Sporting event wagering for progressive awards

ABSTRACT

A system which scales the probability of winning a progressive award to the odds associated with a winning sporting event wager placed.

BACKGROUND

In various embodiments, the systems and methods of the presentdisclosure pertain to scaling the probability of winning a progressiveaward to the odds associated with a winning sporting event wager placed.

Sporting event wagering terminals may enable a player to place a sportswager predicting the results of a sporting event.

BRIEF SUMMARY

In certain embodiments, the present disclosure relates to a systemincluding a processor, and a memory device that stores a plurality ofinstructions. When executed by the processor responsive to a receipt ofdata associated with a placement of a first sporting event wager on afirst outcome of a first sporting event that is associated with firstodds of occurring, the instructions cause the processor to determine afirst quantity of chances to win a progressive award and associate thefirst quantity of chances to win the progressive award with the firstsporting event wager. The first quantity of chances to win theprogressive award is based on the first odds of the first outcome of thefirst sporting event occurring. When executed by the processorresponsive to a receipt of data associated with a placement of a second,different sporting event wager on a second outcome of a second sportingevent that is associated with second, different odds of occurring, theinstructions cause the processor to determine a second, differentquantity of chances to win the progressive award, and associate thesecond, different quantity of chances to win the progressive award withthe second, different sporting event wager. The second, differentquantity of chances to win the progressive award is based on the second,different odds of the second outcome of the second sporting eventoccurring.

In certain embodiments, the present disclosure relates to a systemincluding a processor, and a memory device that stores a plurality ofinstructions. When executed by the processor responsive to a redemptionof a winning sporting event wager, the instructions cause the processorto determine a quantity of chances to win a progressive award, whereindifferent odds associated with different sporting event wagers areassociated with different quantities of chances to win the progressiveaward. When executed by the processor for each of the quantity ofchances to win the progressive award, the instructions cause theprocessor to determine if that chance to win the progressive award is awinning chance. When executed by the processor responsive to that chanceto win the progressive award being a winning chance, the instructionscause the processor to communicate data which results in a display, by adisplay device, of a notification of winning the progressive award.

In certain embodiments, the present disclosure relates to a systemincluding a processor, and a memory device that stores a plurality ofinstructions. When executed by the processor responsive to a receipt ofdata associated with a placement of a first sporting event wager on afirst outcome of a first sporting event that is associated with firstodds of occurring, the instructions cause the processor to determine afirst quantity of chances to trigger an event, and associate the firstquantity of chances to trigger the event with the first sporting eventwager. The first quantity of chances to trigger the event is based onthe first odds of the first outcome of the first sporting eventoccurring. When executed by the processor responsive to a receipt ofdata associated with a placement of a second, different sporting eventwager on a second outcome of a second sporting event that is associatedwith second, different odds of occurring, the instructions cause theprocessor to determine a second, different quantity of chances totrigger the event, and associate the second, different quantity ofchances to trigger the event with the second, different sporting eventwager. The second, different quantity of chances to trigger the event isbased on the second, different odds of the second outcome of the secondsporting event occurring.

Additional features are described herein, and will be apparent from thefollowing Detailed Description and the figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an example configuration of the architecture of a plurality ofdifferent components of the system of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart an example process for operating a system whichassociates a winning sporting event wager with a quantity ofopportunities to win a progressive award.

FIGS. 3A and 3B are front views of one embodiment of the system of thepresent disclosure illustrating a mobile device displaying a sportingevent wager associated with a quantity of opportunities to win aprogressive award placed by a user and the subsequent determination thatthe winning sporting event wager results in a win of the progressiveaward.

FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram of one embodiment of an electronicconfiguration of an example system of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 5A and 5B are perspective views of example alternative embodimentsof a system of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5C is a front view of an example personal gaming device of thesystem of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In various embodiments, the systems of the present disclosure utilizedifferent probabilities of winning a progressive award based ondifferent odds associated with different winning sporting event wagers.

In certain embodiments, in view of the different sporting event wagersavailable to be placed on or otherwise associated with differentsporting events and further in view of the different attributes of suchsporting event wagers, the system enables different winning sportingevent wagers associated with different attributes to correspond todifferent probabilities of winning a designated award, such as aprogressive award. In these embodiments, in addition to any awardassociated with winning a placed sporting event wager, the systemprovides, for winning the sporting event wager, a quantity of entries towin a designated award, wherein the determination of winning thedesignated award occurs separate from the determination of winning thesporting event wager. That is, each entry to win a designated awardqualifies as a chance to win the designated award such that the greaterthe quantity of entries provided in association with winning a sportingevent wager, the greater the quantity of chances or opportunities to winthat designated award and thus the greater the probability of winningthe designated award in association with the winning sporting eventwager. In other words, the system of the present disclosure providesthat different sporting event wagers associated with differentattributes correspond to different quantities of opportunities to win adesignated award wherein the quantity of opportunities to win adesignated award collectively determine at least part of the probabilityof winning that designated award based on the placement of a winningsporting event wager.

In certain embodiments, the quantity of entries to win a designatedaward, such as a progressive award, associated with a winning sportingevent wager are based on the odds of that winning sporting event wager.For example, if the system determines that a first sporting event wageris a winning sporting event wager and the system further determines thatthe first sporting event wager is associated with first sporting eventodds, the system provides a first quantity of entries to win aprogressive award (which is at least partially funded by a portion ofthe associated sporting event wagers placed). In this example, if thesystem determines that a second, different sporting event wager is awinning sporting event wager and the system further determines that thesecond sporting event wager is associated with second, longer sportingevent odds, the system provides a second, greater quantity of entries towin the progressive award. As illustrated by this example, differentodds associated with different sporting event wagers are associated withdifferent quantities of chances of winning the progressive award suchthat the probability of winning a progressive award in association witha placement of a sporting event wager is at least partially based on theodds associated with that sporting event wager. That is, to mitigate anyunfairness between winning a relatively easy sporting event wager (e.g.,a prediction that a heavy favorite will win a race) and winning arelatively hard sporting event wager (e.g., a prediction that a longshot will win the same race), the system modifies the quantity ofchances of winning the progressive award based on the type of predictionmade and how that prediction relates to other predictions available tobe made. In other words, since different predictions on one or moresporting events are associated with different odds of being correctlymade, the system accounts for such different probabilities indetermining the quantity of opportunities of winning a progressive awardassociated with correctly making such predictions.

In certain embodiments, the quantity of entries to win a designatedaward, such as a progressive award, associated with a winning sportingevent wager are additionally or alternatively based on the amount ofthat sporting event wager. For example, if the system determines that afirst sporting event wager of a first amount is a winning sporting eventwager, the system provides a first quantity of entries to win aprogressive award (which is at least partially funded by a portion ofthe associated sporting event wagers placed). In this example, if thesystem determines that a second, different sporting event wager of asecond, greater amount is a winning sporting event wager, the systemprovides a second, greater quantity of entries to win the progressiveaward. As illustrated by this example, different amounts associated witha sporting event wager are associated with different quantities ofchances of winning the progressive award such that the probability ofwinning a progressive award in association with a placement of asporting event wager is at least partially based on the amount of thatsporting event wager.

In certain embodiments, the quantity of entries to win a designatedaward, such as a progressive award, associated with a winning sportingevent wager are additionally or alternatively based on one or moreattributes of that sporting event wager and/or a user whom placed thewinning sporting event wager. For example, if the system determines thata first placed sporting event wager associated with a first team (i.e.,a first attribute) is a winning sporting event wager, the systemprovides a first quantity of entries to win a progressive award (whichis at least partially funded by a portion of the associated sportingevent wagers placed). In this example, if the system determines that asecond, different placed sporting event wager associated with a second,different team (i.e., a second attribute) is a winning sporting eventwager, the system provides a second, greater quantity of entries to winthe progressive award. As illustrated by this example, differentattributes associated with a sporting event wager (and/or differentattributes associated with a user whom placed the winning sporting eventwager) are associated with different quantities of chances of winningthe progressive award such that the probability of winning a progressiveaward in association with a placement of a sporting event wager is atleast partially based on one or more attributes of that sporting eventwager (and/or attributes of a user whom placed the winning sportingevent wager).

It should be appreciated that the disclosed configuration of providingzero, one or more opportunities to win a progressive award inassociation with a placement of a sporting event wager not only bridgesthe divide between users whom play games for an opportunity to winprogressive awards (e.g., games of chance wagerers) and users whom placesporting event wagers, but also dynamically alters how progressive awardsystems operate by having the results of such sporting event wagersfactor into whether or not to provide any opportunities to win aprogressive award and if so, how many opportunities to provide. Putdifferently, unlike prior sporting event wagering systems that providedstatic value awards for winning a sporting event wager and unlike priorprogressive award systems that did not utilize sporting event wageringin factoring whether or not to provide a progressive award, the systemof the present disclosure marries such different (and independent)systems to result in utilizing sporting event wagering as a factor inwhether or not to provide a progressive award. Such a configurationintroduces an additional degree of volatility to winning a progressiveaward by employing the placement of a winning sporting event wager towin a quantity of opportunities to win the progressive award whereinsuch opportunities may or may not result in winning the progressiveaward and are themselves based on one or more random determinations.Accordingly, the system of the present disclosure introduces anadditional avenue for interacting with a sporting event and potentiallywin, via winning the sporting event wager and as a result of one or morerandom determinations, a relatively high valued (and potentiallylifestyle altering) progressive award in the process.

It should be appreciated that the system utilized to factor the resultsof a sporting event wager in a quantity of progressive awardopportunities provided utilize any suitable gaming device such as apersonal gaming device (e.g., a mobile device executing an applicationthrough which sporting event wagers are placed) and/or an electronicgaming machine (“EGM”) (such as a sporting event wagering terminal, aslot machine, a video poker machine, a video lottery terminal, aterminal associated with an electronic table game, a video keno machine,or a video bingo machine each of which may or may not also provide oneor more wagering games), utilize any suitable slot machine interfaceboard which is in communication with an EGM and operable to factor theresults of a sporting event wager in a quantity of progressive awardopportunities provided, and/or utilize any suitable combination of asports book wagering server operating with a personal gaming device, anEGM, and/or a slot machine interface board associated with an EGMoperable to factor the results of a sporting event wager in a quantityof progressive award opportunities provided. To that end, in variousembodiments, the system of the present disclosure includes (or isotherwise in communication with) various components or sub-systems thatcollectively operate to maintain zero, one or more progressive awardsthat may be won if an opportunity to win one or more of such progressiveawards associated with a winning sporting event wager results in awinning opportunity. More specifically, as seen in FIG. 1 , in certainembodiments, the system utilizes a plurality of components, including,but not limited to: a gaming device 102 (which, amongst othercapabilities, operates as an interface to enable a user to place asporting event wager); a customer relationship management system 104(which, amongst other capabilities, tracks sporting event wageringactivity of the user); a sporting event wagering system 106 (which,amongst other capabilities, enables the user to place a sporting eventwager, contributes a portion of placed sporting event wagers to aprogressive award, resolves placed sporting event wagers and determinesa quantity of opportunities to win a progressive award in associationwith a winning sporting event wager); a progressive award system 108(which maintains the progressive award and determines if eachopportunity to win the progressive award results in a win of thatprogressive award).

In various embodiments, the system maintains a progressive award asindicated in block 202 of FIG. 2 . In these embodiments, the maintainedprogressive awards is available to be won in association with a winningsporting event wager wherein different winning sporting event wagers areassociated with different probabilities of winning that progressiveaward. In certain embodiments, the progressive award is a stand-aloneprogressive award associated with a single gaming device. In certainembodiments, the progressive award is part of a plurality of progressiveawards maintained in a multi-level progressive award configuration(“MLP”) associated with a single gaming device. In certain embodiments,the progressive award is a stand-alone progressive award associated witha plurality of gaming devices. In certain embodiments, the progressiveaward is part of a plurality of progressive awards maintained in an MLPassociated with a plurality of gaming devices. In different embodimentswherein the progressive award is associated with a plurality of gamingdevices, the gaming devices may be in (or otherwise associated with) asingle gaming establishment (such that the progressive award may beconsidered a local area progressive (“LAP”)) or the gaming devices maybe in (or otherwise associated with) two or more different gamingestablishments (such that the progressive award may be considered a widearea progressive (“WAP”)).

In certain embodiments, the maintained progressive award starts orresets at a reset amount or level and increments based on the placementof sporting event wagers associated with the progressive award. Incertain embodiments, the maintained progressive award starts or resetsat a reset amount or level and increments based on the placement ofsporting event wagers associated with the progressive award and theplacement of non-sporting event wagers associated with the progressiveaward. In these embodiments, the system maintains the progressive awardand enables the progressive award to be won in association with awinning sporting event wager (i.e., if the chance(s) of winning theprogressive award for the winning sporting event wager result in winningthe progressive award) and also enables the progressive award to be wonindependent of a winning sporting event wager (e.g., a play of a game ofchance results in winning the progressive award). In such embodiments,wagers placed on sporting events as well as wagers placed onnon-sporting events (e.g., games of chance and/or games of skill) mayeach result, subject to one or more additional determinations, in thewinning of a progressive award funded by these different wagers placed.

In various embodiments, the system maintains one or more progressiveawards in association with one or more sporting event wagers, one ormore sporting events and/or one or more parameters of one or moresporting events. In these embodiments, different types of sporting eventwagers, different sporting events and/or different parameters ofdifferent (or the same) sporting event are associated with differentmaintained progressive awards that a user may have an opportunity to windependent on the result of a placed sporting event wager.

In certain embodiments, the system maintains a single progressive awardin association with a single sporting event wherein a portion of anysporting event wagers placed in association with that single sportingevent contribute to the single progressive award and may result in zero,one or more opportunities to win that single progressive award. Forexample, for a baseball game between Team X and Team Y, the systemmaintains a progressive award in association with that baseball game.

In certain embodiments, the system maintains a plurality of differentprogressive awards in association with a single sporting event. Forexample, the system maintains a first progressive award in associationwith a first team of the sporting event and the system maintains asecond progressive award in association with a second team of thesporting event. In these embodiments, a portion of any sporting eventwagers placed in association with that single sporting event contributeto one or more of the progressive awards and may result in zero, one ormore opportunities to win one or more of the progressive awards.

In certain embodiments, the system maintains a single progressive awardin association with a plurality of sporting events of one sport over adesignated period of time, wherein a portion of any sporting eventwagers placed in association with the sporting events of that one sportcontribute to the single progressive award and may result in zero, oneor more opportunities to win that single progressive award. For example,the system maintains an amateur hockey month progressive award wherein aplurality of amateur hockey games, such as each of the college hockeygames for a given collegiate conference occurring over a given month,are associated with the same progressive award.

In certain embodiments, the system maintains a single progressive awardin association with a plurality of sporting events of a plurality ofdifferent sports over a designated period of time, wherein a portion ofany sporting event wagers placed in association with the sporting eventscontribute to the single progressive award and may result in zero, oneor more opportunities to win that single progressive award. For example,the system maintains a progressive award wherein one or moreprofessional basketball games, such as each of the professionalbasketball games occurring for a given month and one or moreprofessional baseball games, such as each of the professional baseballgames occurring for the same given month, are associated with the sameprogressive award.

In certain embodiments, the system maintains a plurality of differentprogressive awards in association with a plurality of different sportingevents over a designated period of time, wherein a portion of anysporting event wagers placed in association with the sporting eventscontribute to one or more of the progressive awards and may result inzero, one or more opportunities to win one or more of the progressiveawards. For example, the system maintains a plurality of professionalfootball progressive awards wherein a plurality of differentprofessional football games, such as each of the professional footballgames occurring for a given week, are associated with a differentprogressive award.

In certain embodiments, the system maintains a single progressive awardin association with a single sports team, wherein a portion of anysporting event wagers placed in association with that single sports teamcontribute to the single progressive award and may result in zero, oneor more opportunities to win that single progressive award. For example,for a baseball game between Team A and Team B, the system maintains aprogressive award in association with Team A of that baseball game. Inanother example, the system maintains a Team Y progressive award whereineach of the games played by Team Y over a given season are associatedwith that progressive award.

In certain embodiments, the system maintains a plurality of differentprogressive awards in association with a plurality of different sportsteams, wherein a portion of any sporting event wagers placed inassociation with the different sports teams contribute to one or more ofthe progressive awards and may result in zero, one or more opportunitiesto win one or more of the progressive awards. For example, the systemmaintains a first progressive award with Team X and further maintains asecond progressive award with Team Y.

In certain embodiments, the system maintains a single progressive awardin association with a plurality of sports teams of one sport over adesignated period of time, wherein a portion of any sporting eventwagers placed in association with those sports teams contribute to thesingle progressive award and may result in zero, one or moreopportunities to win that single progressive award. For example, thesystem maintains a national league progressive award wherein a pluralityof baseball teams in the national league are associated with the sameprogressive award.

In certain embodiments, the system maintains a single progressive awardin association with a plurality of sports teams of a plurality ofdifferent sports over a designated period of time, wherein a portion ofany sporting event wagers placed in association with those sports teamscontribute to the single progressive award and may result in zero, oneor more opportunities to win that single progressive award. For example,the system maintains a New York progressive award wherein each of theprofessional baseball teams located in New York and the professionalbasketball teams located in New York are associated with the sameprogressive award.

In certain embodiments, the system maintains a plurality of differentprogressive awards in association with a single sports team, wherein aportion of any sporting event wagers placed in association with thatsingle sports team contribute to one or more of the progressive awardsand may result in zero, one or more opportunities to win one or more ofthe progressive awards. For example, the system maintains an offenseprogressive award associated with plays made by the offense of aprofessional football team. In this example, the system furthermaintains a defense progressive award associated with plays made by thedefense of the professional football team.

In certain embodiments, the system maintains a single progressive awardin association with a single sporting event participant, wherein aportion of any sporting event wagers placed in association with thatsingle sporting event participate contribute to the single progressiveaward and may result in zero, one or more opportunities to win thatsingle progressive award. In certain embodiments, the system maintains asingle progressive award in association with a plurality of differentsporting event participants.

In certain embodiments, the system maintains a single progressive awardin association with a plurality of sporting event participants of onesport over a designated period of time, wherein a portion of anysporting event wagers placed in association with those sporting eventparticipants contribute to the single progressive award and may resultin zero, one or more opportunities to win that single progressive award.For example, the system maintains a starting point guard progressiveaward wherein a plurality of starting point guards of a plurality ofprofessional basketball teams are associated with the same progressiveaward.

In certain embodiments, the system maintains a single progressive awardin association with a plurality of sporting event participants of aplurality of different sports over a designated period of time, whereina portion of any sporting event wagers placed in association with thosesporting event participants contribute to the single progressive awardand may result in zero, one or more opportunities to win that singleprogressive award. For example, the system maintains a Chicago bornplayers progressive award wherein each professional basketball playerand each professional tennis player born in Chicago are associated withthe same progressive award.

In certain embodiments, the system maintains a plurality of differentprogressive awards in association with a plurality of different sportingevent participants, wherein a portion of any sporting event wagersplaced in association with the sporting event participants contribute toone or more of the progressive awards and may result in zero, one ormore opportunities to win one or more of the progressive awards. Forexample, the system maintains a first progressive award with Player X ofa sporting event and a second progressive award with Player Y of thesporting event.

In certain embodiments, the system maintains a plurality of differentprogressive awards in association with a single sporting eventparticipant, wherein a portion of any sporting event wagers placed inassociation with that single sporting event participate contribute toone or more of the progressive awards and may result in zero, one ormore opportunities to win one or more of the progressive awards. Forexample, the system maintains a points progressive award associated withany points scored by a professional basketball player. In this example,the system further maintains an assists progressive award associatedwith any assists made by the same professional basketball player. Incertain embodiments, the system maintains a single progressive award inassociation with a single sporting event participant.

It should be appreciated that any suitable configuration of associatingsporting events, sports teams and/or sporting event participants withone or more progressive awards may be employed in association with thesystem of the present disclosure. It should be further appreciated thatthe system may associate one or more progressive awards with anysuitable sporting event, sports team or sporting event participant ofany suitable sport at any professional and/or amateur level.

In different embodiments, in addition to maintaining a progressiveaward, upon an occurrence of a sporting event wagering opportunity, thesystem displays one or more sporting event wagers available to be placedas indicated in block 204 of FIG. 2 . In these embodiments, one or moreof the sporting event wagers displayed to the user include any suitablesporting event wager including, but not limited to, any suitablemoneyline wager on an outcome of a sporting event (e.g., Team X will winthe game), any suitable wager on an outcome of a sporting event whichaccounts for a point spread (e.g., Team X will win the game by tenpoints), any suitable proposition wager on an in-game event occurring ornot occurring within the sporting event (e.g., User A will make the nextfree throw), any suitable handicap wager, any suitable if and reversewager, any suitable total/over-under wager, any suitable full coverwager, any suitable future/outright wager, any suitableparlay/accumulator multiple sporting event wagers (including but notlimited to a progressive parlay wager, a teaser and pleaser wager, agrand salami wager, and/or a round robin wager) and/or any combinationof these different available sporting event wagers.

In certain embodiments, a sporting event wagering opportunity occursupon a user depositing an amount of funds to increase a credit balanceof a gaming device and/or an account associated with the user, such as asports wagering account associated with the user. In certainembodiments, a sporting event wagering opportunity automatically occursif the system is not otherwise being actively engaged (e.g., if a useris not making any sporting event wagers or otherwise playing any gamesof the system). In certain of these embodiments, based on the historicsporting event wagering activity of a current gaming session (i.e.,which types of sporting events have been wagered on during the currentgaming session), the system determines certain sporting events todisplay and certain sporting events to not display. In certainembodiments, a sporting event wagering opportunity occurs upon a userlogging into a player tracking system associated with the system. Incertain of these embodiments, based on the user's historic sportingevent wagering activity and/or the user's preferences, the systemdetermines certain sporting events to display to the identified user andcertain sporting events to not display to the identified user.

In certain embodiments, the system displays to the user pertinentwagering information regarding the one or more sporting event wagersavailable to be placed, such as, but not limited to, the participants inthe sporting event (including historic information regarding suchparticipants in the sporting event), the odds associated with aparticular action or event occurring in the sporting event, the amountsavailable to be wagered, and/or the static awards provided if thedifferent sporting event wagers are determined to be winning sportingevent wagers. In certain embodiments wherein the sporting event is ahistoric sporting event, the system anonymizes certain of theinformation that can be used to identify the sporting event to bewagered on. In these embodiments, the system displays to the user a listof unidentifiable teams to select and their odds of winning, andhistorical information about each team, such as their performance duringthe chosen season. In certain other embodiment wherein the sportingevent is a live or upcoming sporting event, the system displaysnon-anonymized information (e.g., live sports book information obtainedvia a sports betting service) regarding the live or upcoming sportingevent.

In certain embodiments, the system enables the user to reject thesporting event wagers available to be placed and make one or more inputsto potentially locate another sporting event wager to potentially place.That is, similar to a sports book wherein a user is presented with manysporting events that they can place different wagers upon, the systemenables a user to reject the sporting event wagers presented to the usersuch that another subset of sporting event wagers are subsequentlypresented to be potentially placed. In another embodiment, multiplesporting event wagers within the sporting event are presented to theuser, and the system enables the user pick a subset of the sportingevent wagers presented to place. In this embodiment, if the user picksmore than one sporting event wager to place within one or more sportingevents, the system employs a parlay bet with adjusted odds. In anotherembodiment, the system requires the user to place a primary sportingevent wager wherein two or more subsequent sporting event wagers placedwithin one or more sporting events are associated with a parlay bet withadjusted odds.

In certain embodiments, to determine zero, one or more sporting eventwagers available to be placed, the system displays one or more availablesporting events (which the user may place one or more sporting eventwagers on) and enables a user to select one or more of the availablesporting events. In certain embodiments, the system is associated with aplurality of different sporting events which may be different types ofsporting events available for selection (e.g., football games and hockeygames) and/or different sporting events of the same type (e.g.,different college basketball games) wherein the system displaysdifferent configurations of such sporting events to the user. Indifferent embodiments, the one or more available sporting eventsdisplayed which the user may place one or more sporting event wagers oninclude any suitable sporting event and/or electronic sporting event atany professional and/or amateur level including but not limited to,football, basketball, baseball, boxing, horse racing, wrestling, mixedmartial arts, golf, cricket, soccer, hockey, field hockey, tennis,volleyball, table tennis, ruby, swimming, diving, archery, cycling,billiards, fishing, gymnastics, hunting, track and field, sailing,and/or car racing.

In certain embodiments, one or more of the available sporting eventsdisplayed include live sporting events, such as sporting eventscurrently being played. In certain embodiments, one or more of theavailable sporting events displayed include future sporting events, suchas sporting events that will soon be played. In these embodiments, thesystem displays identifying information regarding the sporting event,such as identifying the participants in the sporting event, informationabout the participants historical performance in similar sportingevents, and the odds of one or more sporting event wagers available inassociation with such sporting events.

In certain embodiments, one or more of the available sporting eventsdisplayed include historical sporting events, such as a prerecordedsporting event, or a recreation of a prior sporting event. In theseembodiments, to prevent users from determining an outcome of thehistoric sporting event prior to placing any sporting event wagers onthat historic sporting event, the system masks certain of theidentifying information associated with that sporting event. That is,the system anonymizes identifying information about teams, historicalteam records, sporting event users, and/or historical sporting eventuser statistics each time that information is presented to users toselect whether to wager on a given sporting event.

In certain embodiments, one or more of the available sporting eventsdisplayed include virtual or electronic sport (“eSport”) events. Indifferent embodiments, such virtual or eSports events are played byhumans, by computer driven participants or by a mix of human andcomputer driven participants.

In certain embodiments, the selection of one or more sporting eventsinclude the selection of a type of sporting event followed by anotherselection of a specific sporting event of the selected type of sportingevent. For example, after the selection of a “football” type of sportingevent, the system enables the user to select one or more different“football” sporting events to potentially wager on. In certain otherembodiments, the selection of one or more sporting events include theselection of a specific sporting event.

In certain embodiments, to assist the user in selecting one or moresporting events and/or types of sporting events, the system displayscertain information regarding the different available selections ofsporting events, such as a generic description of the sporting event, ageneric description of the type of sporting event, one or more of theavailable sporting event wagers for one or more sporting events and/orthe odds of such sporting event wagers. In certain embodiment, thesystem additionally or alternatively enables the user to select one ormore parameters that assist the user in selecting the sporting eventand/or type of sporting event to place one or more sporting event wagerson.

In certain embodiments, the available sporting event wagers areassociated with a quantity of chances to win a progressive award (ifthat sporting event wager is determined to be a winning sporting eventwager) that is based on the sporting event odds of that sporting eventwager. In these embodiments, different sporting event wagers associatedwith different odds are associated with different quantities of chancesto win the maintained progressive award. For example, a first sportingevent wager associated with first odds is associated with a firstquantity of opportunities to win a progressive award and a secondsporting event wager associated with lower odds is associated with asecond, greater quantity of opportunities to win the same progressiveaward. In these embodiments, different odds associated with differentsporting event wagers correspond with different quantities of chances ofwinning the progressive award such that the probability of winning aprogressive award in association with a placement of a sporting eventwager is at least partially based on the odds associated with theunderlying sporting event wager. As such, to mitigate any unfairnessbetween winning a relatively easy sporting event wager (e.g., amoneyline wager that a favored team will win a football game) andwinning a relatively hard sporting event wager (e.g., a four-leg parlaysequence), the system modifies the quantity of chances of winning theprogressive award based on the type of sporting event wager made and howthat sporting event wager relates, in terms of chances of winning, toother sporting event wagers available to be made. In other words, sincedifferent sporting event wagers available to be placed are associatedwith different probabilities of being winning sporting event wagers, thesystem accounts for such different probabilities in determining thequantity of opportunities of winning a progressive award associated withsuch different sporting event wagers.

In certain embodiments, the available sporting event wagers areassociated with a quantity of chances to win a progressive award (ifthat sporting event wager is determined to be a winning sporting eventwager) that is additionally or alternatively based on the amount of thatsporting event wager. In these embodiments, different sporting eventwagers associated with different amounts are associated with differentquantities of chances to win the maintained progressive award. Forexample, a first sporting event wager of a first amount is associatedwith a first quantity of opportunities to win a progressive award (ifthat first sporting event wager is a winning sporting event wager) and asecond sporting event wager of a second greater amount (or lower amount)is associated with a second, greater quantity (or a second, lowerquantity) of opportunities to win the progressive award (if that secondsporting event wager is a winning sporting event wager).

In certain embodiments, the available sporting event wagers areassociated with a quantity of chances to win a progressive award (ifthat sporting event wager is determined to be a winning sporting eventwager) that is additionally or alternatively based on one or moreattributes of that sporting event wager. In these embodiments, differentsporting event wagers associated with different attributes (e.g., a typeof sporting event wager placed, a sport involved, a team involved,and/or a participant involved) that are associated with differentquantities of chances to win the maintained progressive award. Forexample, a first placed sporting event wager associated with an underdogteam (i.e., a first attribute) is associated with a first quantity ofopportunities to win a progressive award and a second placed sportingevent wager associated with a favored team (i.e., a second attribute) isassociated with a second, lower quantity (or a second, greater quantity)of opportunities to win the progressive award.

In certain embodiments, the available sporting event wagers areassociated with a quantity of chances to win a progressive award (ifthat sporting event wager is determined to be a winning sporting eventwager) that is additionally or alternatively based on one or moreattributes of the user that placed the sporting event. In theseembodiments, different users whom place sporting event wagers areassociated with different attributes (e.g., a player tracking status ofthe user, a quantity of loyalty points earned by that user, a user'sposition on a leaderboard, and/or a quantity of sporting event wagersplaced by that user that have been shared with other users) that areassociated with different quantities of chances to win the maintainedprogressive award. For example, a sporting event wager placed by a firstuser of a first player tracking status is associated with a firstquantity of opportunities to win a progressive award and the samesporting event wager placed by a second user of a second, differentplayer tracking status is associated with a second, different quantityof opportunities to win the progressive award.

In certain embodiments, the available sporting event wagers areassociated with a wager amount and a static quantity of opportunities towin a progressive award (if that sporting event wager is determined tobe a winning sporting event wager), wherein the selection of a sportingevent wager includes the selection of an amount to wager on the sportingevent to win the associated quantity of opportunities. For example, asseen in FIG. 3A, in addition to a mobile device application 310 of amobile device 320 displaying information that the current value of aprogressive award is $120,340.15 330 a, the mobile device applicationdisplays information to a user that a $1 wager on the displayedfour-legged parlay sporting event wager results in one-thousand separatechances to win the progressive award 330 b. In certain embodiments, theavailable sporting event wagers are not associated with wager amountsnor static quantities of chances to win the progressive award wherein inaddition to selecting a sporting event wager to place, the systemenables the user to select an amount of the sporting event wager toplace to win an associated static award in the form of a quantity ofchances to win the progressive award.

In certain embodiments, the available sporting event wagers areassociated with a wager amount and a parimutuel quantity ofopportunities to win a progressive award (if that sporting event wageris determined to be a winning sporting event wager) which is determinedafter all sporting event wagers have been placed. In these embodiments,the selection of a sporting event wager includes the selection of anamount to wager on the sporting event wherein all sporting event wagersof a particular type are placed together in a pool and then after thededuction of applicable fees (e.g., the vigorish) and/or taxes, thepayoff odds (provided in the form of opportunities to win a progressiveaward) are determined by sharing the pool among all winning bets. Forexample, a mobile device displays to a user that they can place a wagerof $50 that the next play of a stream of a professional football gamewill be a running play wherein the quantity of chances to win aprogressive award (if the placed sporting event wager is a winningwager) is determined after everyone in the system has wagered on whatthe next play of the stream of the professional football game will be.

In certain embodiments, an average expected value of the quantity ofopportunities to win the maintained progressive award corresponds to avalue associated with winning the sporting event wager paid out as astatic award. In these embodiments, the average expected value of thequantity of opportunities to win the maintained progressive award is atheoretical value wherein the actual determined amount of the quantityof opportunities to win the maintained progressive award may be lessthan, equal to or greater than this average expected value. For example,if a static award associated with a placed sporting event wager being awinning sporting event wager is $50, the system converts this $50 intothree-hundred chances to win a progressive award, wherein the result ofeach chance will be a losing chance associated with a value of $0 or awinning chance associated with the current value of the progressiveaward. In certain embodiments, an average expected value of the quantityof opportunities to win the maintained progressive award does notcorrespond to a value associated with winning the sporting event wagerpaid out as a static award. For example, to entice a player to utilizethis feature, if the static award associated with a placed sportingevent wager being a winning sporting event wager is $50, the systemconverts this $50 into five-hundred chances to win a progressive award,wherein the result of each chance will be a losing chance associatedwith a value of $0 or a winning chance associated with the current valueof the progressive award. In another example, to mitigate riskassociated with increasing the volatility of such sporting event wagers,if the static award associated with a placed sporting event wager beinga winning sporting event wager is $50, the system converts this $50 intotwo-hundred-fifty chances to win a progressive award, wherein the resultof each chance will be a losing chance associated with a value of $0 ora winning chance associated with the current value of the progressiveaward.

Following the display of the available sporting event wagers, the systemenables a placement of an available sporting event wager as indicated inblock 206 of FIG. 2 . In certain embodiments, in association with theselection of a sporting event wager to place, the system communicatesdata associated with the sporting event wager to a sports book wageringserver (or other component tasked with tracking placed sporting eventwagers). For example, after the user selected a sporting event wager of$1 on a parlay to win one-thousand chances to win the maintainedprogressive award, the mobile device where the user selected such asporting event wager communicates data associated with the selectedsporting event wager to be placed to a sports book wagering server. Incertain embodiments, rather than the system communicating dataassociated with the selected sporting event wager to place, a componentof a gaming establishment management system, such as a slot machineinterface board associated with the EGM (i.e., a component of the EGM))communicates data associated with the selected sporting event wager toplace to a sports book wagering server (or other gaming establishmentcomponent tasked with tracking placed sporting event wagers).

In certain embodiments, following the sports book wagering serverreceiving the data associated with the placed sporting event wager, thesports book wagering server (or other gaming establishment componenttasked with tracking the placed sporting event wager) determines whetherto accept or reject the attempted sporting event wager. If the sportsbook wagering server rejects the attempted sporting event wager, thesports book wagering server communicates a denial notification to thesystem to display to the user. On the other hand, if the sports bookwagering server accepts the attempted sporting event wager, the sportsbook wagering server associates a placed sporting event wager identifierwith the selected sporting event wager to place and stores the placedsporting event wager identifier (which is associated with the placedsporting event wager). The system then issues a sporting event wagerticket voucher associated with the placed sporting event wager, whereinthe sporting event wager ticket voucher may be in printed or virtualform and indicates the amount of the placed sporting event wager andinformation associated with the placed sporting event wager, such as thequantity of chances to win the progressive award if that placed sportingevent wager is a winning sporting event wager.

In certain embodiments, the placement of the sporting event wagerqualifies as an occurrence of a progressive award increment event thatcauses the system to increase the maintained progressive award asindicated in block 208. In these embodiments, the increase of themaintained progressive award is funded by a portion of the sportingevent wager placed (e.g., 1% of the amount of wager placed is allocatedto growing the progressive award). In another such embodiment, theprogressive award increment event additionally or alternatively occursbased on (or as a result of) a non-sporting event wager being placed,wherein the non-sporting event wager is associated with an opportunityto win the progressive award. In another such embodiment, theprogressive award increment event additionally or alternatively occursbased on (or as a result of) one or more displayed events occurring inassociation with one or more plays of one or more games and/or inassociation with one or more sporting events. In another suchembodiment, the progressive award increment event occurs independent ofany displayed events associated with any plays of any games andindependent of any sporting events. In certain embodiments, each of theprogressive awards maintained by the system have the same contributionrate (i.e., the portion of the wager placed allocated to the progressiveaward). In certain embodiments, a plurality of the progressive awardsmaintained by the system have different contribution rates.

In addition to enabling the placement of a sporting event wager that mayor may not result in one or more opportunities to potentially win aprogressive award, if the placed sporting event wager is determined tobe a winning sporting event wager, then upon a redemption of an issuedsporting event wager ticket voucher as a winning sporting event wagerticket voucher, the system determines a quantity of chances to win theprogressive award associated with the winning sporting event wager asindicated in block 210. In certain embodiments wherein the quantity ofchances to win the progressive award is set with the placement of thesporting event wager, the system looks up the stored quantity ofchances. In certain other embodiments wherein the quantity of chances towin the progressive award is unknown with the placement of the sportingevent wager, such as a parimutuel implementation, the system determinesthe quantity of chances to provide in association with the winningsporting event wager.

Following a determination of a quantity of chances to win the maintainedprogressive award, for each determined chance to win the progressiveaward, the system proceeds to determine if that chance to win theprogressive award results in a win of the progressive award as indicatedin block 212. Put differently, following the determination that theplaced sporting event wager is a winning sporting event wager (which isbased on one or more events occurring (or not occurring) in one or moresporting events and data associated with such events being received fromthe sports book wagering server (or other gaming establishment componenttasked with tracking the placed sporting event wagers)) such that theholder of the associated sporting event wager ticket voucher is entitledto a quantity of chances to win the maintained progressive awardassociated with the winning sporting event wager, the system undertakesone or more additional determinations to determine whether or not toprovide the progressive award based on winning the sporting event wager.It should be appreciated that in these embodiments, each chance to winthe progressive award is associated with the same probability of winningthe progressive award such that the greater the quantity of chances towin the progressive award associated with the winning sporting eventwager, the greater the overall probability of winning the progressiveaward in association with placing the winning sporting event wager.

In certain embodiments, for each chance to win the progressive award,the system issues or assigns an entry or ticket associated with thatchance to win the progressive award. In these embodiments, the moreentries or tickets issued in association with a winning sporting eventwager, the greater quantity of opportunities that at least one of theissued entries or tickets is a winning entry or ticket and thus thegreater the overall probability of winning the progressive award inassociation with placing the winning sporting event wager. Following theissuance or assignment of a quantity of entries or tickets with thewinning sporting event wager, the system determines if an issued entryor ticket qualifies as a winning entry based on one or moredeterminations. In one such embodiment, the system randomly determinesif an issued entry or ticket qualifies as a winning entry. In anothersuch embodiment, the system determine if an identifier associated withan issued entry or ticket matches a randomly determined identifierassociated with winning the progressive award.

If the system determines that none of the chances of winning theprogressive award associated with the winning sporting event wagerresult in winning the progressive award, as indicated in diamond 214 andblock 216, the system does not cause the maintained progressive award tobe provided in association with the winning sporting event wager. Incertain embodiments, the system additionally notifies the holder of thewinning sporting event wager ticket voucher that they are not the winnerof the progressive award (via any suitable manner, such as throughtelephone, e-mail, SMS or text messages, banner messages in mobiledevice application, social media postings, website postings or any othersuitable medium).

On the other hand, if the system determines that at least one of thechances of winning the progressive award associated with the winningsporting event wager result in winning the progressive award, the systemcauses the maintained progressive award to be provided in associationwith the winning sporting event wager as indicated in diamond 214 andblock 218. In certain embodiments, the system notifies the holder of thewinning sporting event wager ticket voucher that they are the winner ofthe progressive award (via any suitable manner, such as throughtelephone, e-mail, SMS or text messages, banner messages in mobiledevice application, social media postings, website postings or any othersuitable medium). For example, as seen in FIG. 3B, following a placementof a winning $1 wager on the displayed four-legged parlay sporting eventwager and a determination that at least one of the one-thousand separatechances to win the progressive award resulted in winning the progressiveaward, the mobile device application 310 of the mobile device 320displays information regarding the win of the progressive award (whichis then currently value at $120,453.68 330 c. In certain embodiments,the system makes the current amount of the progressive award availableto the holder of the winning sporting event wager ticket voucher, suchas increasing a credit meter of a gaming device or causing a check to beissued. In certain embodiments, the system contributes the currentamount of the progressive award to a gaming establishment accountassociated with the holder of the winning sporting event wager ticketvoucher, such as a cashless wagering account.

Following the providing of the progressive award, the system resets anamount of the progressive award to a progressive award reset value asindicated in block 220. In certain embodiments, each of the progressiveawards maintained by the system have the same progressive award resetvalue. In certain embodiments, a plurality of the progressive awardsmaintained by the system have different progressive award reset values.

In certain embodiments wherein winning the progressive award isassociated with a requirement to file a W-2G tax form with one or moretaxing authorities, such as the internal revenue service, one or morecomponents require that the user login to an applicable account andobtain or complete the W-2G tax form before a transfer of the funds ofthe won progressive award to an applicable account of the user. In theseembodiments, the progressive award system holds the funds of the wonprogressive award in escrow until the user completes the required taxreporting paperwork, upon which the progressive award system completesthe transfer of the funds of the won progressive award to the user'saccount. In certain embodiments other wherein winning the progressiveaward is associated with a requirement to file a W-2G tax form with oneor more taxing authorities, the system transfers the funds of the wonprogressive award to the user's account and places a hold of thewithdrawal of such funds until the user completes the required taxreporting paperwork. In these embodiments, the system places the fundsof the won progressive award in a blocked state where withdraws aredisabled until the user completes the process of obtaining the W-2G formfor the won progressive award.

In certain embodiments, in addition to winning a quantity of chances towin a progressive award for a winning sporting event wager, the systemprovides one or more awards in association with the winning sportingevent wager. In different embodiments, these awards include, but are notlimited to, one or more of: a quantity of monetary credits, a quantityof non-monetary credits, a quantity of promotional credits, a quantityof player tracking points, a quantity of free plays of one or moregames, a quantity of plays of one or more secondary or bonus games, amultiplier of a quantity of free plays of a game, one or more lotterybased awards, such as lottery or drawing tickets, a wager match for oneor more plays of one or more games, an increase in the average expectedpayback percentage for one or more plays of one or more games, one ormore comps or complimentary offers (e.g., a free dinner, a free night'sstay at a hotel), a relatively high value product (e.g., a free car),one or more bonus credits usable for online play, a multiplier forplayer tracking points or credits, an increase in a membership or playertracking level, one or more coupons or promotions usable within and/oroutside of the gaming establishment, virtual goods associated with thesystem, virtual goods not associated with the system, an access codeusable to unlock content on an internet.

It should be appreciated that while described as utilizing a winningsporting event wager to determine a quantity of chances to win aprogressive award, the system of the present disclosure is operable todetermine other aspects of playing one or more games and/or winning oneor more awards based on the results of a sporting event wager. That is,in addition to or alternative from providing a quantity of chances topotentially win a progressive award based on placing a winning sportingevent wager, the system provides a quantity of chances to partake inand/or alter one or more other gaming experiences based on placing awinning sporting event wager.

In certain embodiments, in association with placing a winning sportingevent wager, the system determines a quantity of chances to trigger aplay of a game, wherein the quantity of chances is associated with awinning sporting event wager and different winning sporting event wagersare associated with different quantities of chances to trigger a play ofa game. In these embodiments, for each of the quantity of chances toplay a game, the system determines if that chance is or is not a winningchance that may or may not result in an award. As such, if a chance totrigger a play of a game is determined to be a winning chance, then thesystem provides the triggered play of the game wherein one or moredeterminations associated with the play of the game determine whether ornot an award is won from the triggered play of the game. In differentembodiments, the game(s) available to be triggered based on a chanceassociated with a winning sporting event wager include, but are notlimited to: a play of any suitable slot game; a play of any suitablewheel game; a play of any suitable card game; a play of any suitableskill game; a play of any suitable offer and acceptance game; a play ofany suitable award ladder game; a play of any suitable puzzle-type game;a play of any suitable persistence game; a play of any suitableselection game; a play of any suitable cascading symbols game; a play ofany suitable ways to win game; a play of any suitable scatter pay game;a play of any suitable coin-pusher game; a play of any suitableelimination game; a play of any suitable stacked wilds game; a play ofany suitable trail game; a play of any suitable bingo game; a play ofany suitable video scratch-off game; a play of any suitablepick-until-complete game; a play of any suitable shooting simulationgame; a play of any suitable racing game; a play of any suitablepromotional game; a play of any suitable high-low game; a play of anysuitable lottery game; a play of any suitable number selection game; aplay of any suitable dice game; a play of any suitable auction game; aplay of any suitable reverse-auction game; and/or a play of any suitablegroup game.

In certain embodiments, in association with placing a winning sportingevent wager, the system additionally or alternatively determines aquantity of chances to modify an attribute of a game, such as modify apaytable associated with a play of a game, wherein the quantity ofchances is associated with a winning sporting event wager and differentwinning sporting event wagers are associated with different quantitiesof chances to modify the attribute of the game.

In certain embodiments, in association with placing a winning sportingevent wager, the system additionally or alternatively determines aquantity of chances to activate and/or modify a feature usable inassociation with a play of a game, wherein the quantity of chances isassociated with a winning sporting event wager and different winningsporting event wagers are associated with different quantities ofchances to activate and/or modify a feature. In various embodiments, oneor more features which winning a sporting event wager provides zero, oneor more chances to activate or modify include, but are not limited to: afeature modifying one or more symbols available to be generated for asubsequent play of a game; a feature modifying one or more wild symbolsavailable to be generated for a subsequent play of a game; a featuremodifying a quantity of reels to be used for a subsequent play of agame; a feature modifying which of a plurality of reel are to be usedfor a subsequent play of a game; a feature modifying a deck of playingcards to be used for a subsequent play of a game; a feature modifying aquantity of playing cards to be used for a subsequent play of a game; afeature modifying a quantity of poker hands to be dealt for a subsequentplay of a game; a book-end wild symbols feature; a stacked wild symbolsfeature; an expanding wild symbols feature; a retrigger symbol feature;an anti-terminator symbol feature; a locking reel feature, a lockingsymbol position feature; a modifier, such as a multiplier, feature; afeature modifying an amount of credits of a credit balance; a featuremodifying an amount of promotional credits; a feature modifying a placedwager amount (e.g., a player placed a bet of $1 which is treated by theEGM as a bet of $2); a feature modifying a placed side wager amount; afeature modifying a rate of earning player tracking points; a featuremodifying a rate of earning promotional credits; a feature modifying arate of earning virtual credits; a feature modifying a number of wageredon paylines; a feature modifying a wager placed on one or more paylines(or on one or more designated paylines); a feature modifying a number ofways to win wagered on; a feature modifying a wager placed on one ormore ways to win (or on one or more designated ways to win); a featuremodifying an average expected payback percentage of a subsequent play ofa game; a feature modifying an average expected payout of a subsequentplay of a game; a feature modifying one or more awards available; afeature modifying a range of awards available; a feature modifying atype of awards available; a feature modifying one or more progressiveawards; a feature modifying which progressive awards are available to bewon; a feature modifying one or more modifiers, such as multipliers,available; a feature modifying an activation of a reel (or a designatedreel); a feature modifying an activation of a plurality of reels; afeature modifying a generated outcome (or a designated generatedoutcome); a feature modifying a generated outcome (or a designatedgenerated outcome) associated with an award over a designated value; afeature modifying a generated outcome (or a designated generatedoutcome) on a designated payline; a feature modifying a generatedoutcome (or a designated generated outcome) in a scatter configuration;a feature modifying a winning way to win (or a designated winning way towin); a feature modifying a designated symbol or symbol combination; afeature modifying a generation of a designated symbol or symbolcombination on a designated payline; a feature modifying a generation ofa designated symbol or symbol combination in a scatter configuration; afeature modifying a triggering event of a play of a secondary or bonusgame; a feature modifying an activation of a secondary or bonus display(such as an award generator); a feature modifying a quantity ofactivations of a secondary or bonus display (e.g., a feature modifying aquantity of spins of an award generator); a feature modifying a quantityof sections of a secondary or bonus display (e.g., a feature modifying aquantity of sections of an award generator); a feature modifying one ormore awards of a secondary or bonus display; a feature modifying anactivation of a community award generator; a feature modifying aquantity of activations of a community award generator; a featuremodifying a quantity of sections of a community award generator; afeature modifying one or more awards of a community award generator; afeature modifying a generated outcome (or a designated generatedoutcome) in a secondary game; a feature modifying a quantity of picks ina selection game (e.g., provide a player six picks in a selection gameotherwise associated with three picks); a feature modifying a quantityof offers in an offer and acceptance game; a feature modifying aquantity of moves in a trail game; a feature modifying an amount of freespins provided; a feature modifying a game terminating or endingcondition; a feature modifying an availability of a secondary game; afeature modifying a theme of a game; and/or a feature modifying any gameplay feature associated with any play of any game disclosed herein.

It should be appreciated that in different embodiments, one or more of:

-   -   i. whether to enable a placement of one or more sporting event        wagers;    -   ii. which sporting event wagers are available to be placed;    -   iii. a quantity of chances to win a progressive award associated        with a winning sporting event wager;    -   iv. whether a chance to win a progressive award associated with        a winning sporting event wager results in winning the        progressive award; and/or    -   v. any determination disclosed herein;        is/are predetermined, randomly determined, randomly determined        based on one or more weighted percentages, determined based on a        generated symbol or symbol combination, determined independent        of a generated symbol or symbol combination, determined based on        a random determination by the central controller, determined        independent of a random determination by the central controller,        determined based on a random determination, determined        independent of a random determination, determined based on a        player's selection, determined independent of a player's        selection, determined based on one or more wagers placed,        determined independent of one or more wagers placed, determined        based on time (such as the time of day), determined independent        of time (such as the time of day), determined based on an amount        of coin-in accumulated in one or more wagers, determined        independent of an amount of coin-in accumulated in one or more        wagers, determined based on a status of the player (i.e., a        player tracking status), determined independent of a status of        the player (i.e., a player tracking status), determined based on        one or more other determinations disclosed herein, determined        independent of any other determination disclosed herein or        determined based on any other suitable method or criteria.

The above-described embodiments may be implemented in accordance with orin conjunction with one or more of a variety of different types ofsystems, such as, but not limited to, those described below.

The present disclosure contemplates a variety of different systems eachhaving one or more of a plurality of different features, attributes, orcharacteristics. A “system” or “gaming system” as used herein refers tovarious configurations of: (a) one or more servers; (b) one or moreelectronic gaming machines such as those located on a casino floor;and/or (c) one or more personal gaming devices, such as desktopcomputers, laptop computers, tablet computers or computing devices,personal digital assistants, mobile phones, and other mobile computingdevices.

Thus, in various embodiments, the system of the present disclosureincludes: (a) one or more electronic gaming machines in combination withone or more servers; (b) one or more personal gaming devices incombination with one or more servers; (c) one or more personal gamingdevices in combination with one or more electronic gaming machines; (d)one or more personal gaming devices, one or more electronic gamingmachines, and one or more servers in combination with one another; (e) asingle electronic gaming machine; (f) a plurality of electronic gamingmachines in combination with one another; (g) a single personal gamingdevice; (h) a plurality of personal gaming devices in combination withone another; (i) a single server; and/or (j) a plurality of servers incombination with one another. For brevity and clarity and unlessspecifically stated otherwise, “EGM” as used herein represents one EGMor a plurality of EGMs, “personal gaming device” as used hereinrepresents one personal gaming device or a plurality of personal gamingdevices, and “server” as used herein represents one server or aplurality of servers.

As noted above, in various embodiments, the system includes an EGM (orpersonal gaming device) in combination with a server. In suchembodiments, the EGM (or personal gaming device) is configured tocommunicate with the server through a data network or remotecommunication link. In certain such embodiments, the EGM (or personalgaming device) is configured to communicate with another EGM (orpersonal gaming device) through the same data network or remotecommunication link or through a different data network or remotecommunication link. For example, the system includes a plurality of EGMsthat are each configured to communicate with a server through a datanetwork.

In certain embodiments in which the system includes an EGM (or personalgaming device) in combination with a server, the server is any suitablecomputing device (such as a server) that includes at least one processorand at least one memory device or data storage device. As furtherdescribed herein, the EGM (or personal gaming device) includes at leastone EGM (or personal gaming device) processor configured to transmit andreceive data or signals representing events, messages, commands, or anyother suitable information between the EGM (or personal gaming device)and the server. The at least one processor of that EGM (or personalgaming device) is configured to execute the events, messages, orcommands represented by such data or signals in conjunction with theoperation of the EGM (or personal gaming device). Moreover, the at leastone processor of the server is configured to transmit and receive dataor signals representing events, messages, commands, or any othersuitable information between the server and the EGM (or personal gamingdevice). The at least one processor of the server is configured toexecute the events, messages, or commands represented by such data orsignals in conjunction with the operation of the server. One, more thanone, or each of the functions of the server may be performed by the atleast one processor of the EGM (or personal gaming device). Further,one, more than one, or each of the functions of the at least oneprocessor of the EGM (or personal gaming device) may be performed by theat least one processor of the server.

In certain such embodiments, computerized instructions for controllingany games (such as any primary or base games and/or any secondary orbonus games) displayed by the EGM (or personal gaming device) areexecuted by the server. In such “thin client” embodiments, the serverremotely controls any games (or other suitable interfaces) displayed bythe EGM (or personal gaming device), and the EGM (or personal gamingdevice) is utilized to display such games (or suitable interfaces) andto receive one or more inputs or commands. In other such embodiments,computerized instructions for controlling any games displayed by the EGM(or personal gaming device) are communicated from the server to the EGM(or personal gaming device) and are stored in at least one memory deviceof the EGM (or personal gaming device). In such “thick client”embodiments, the at least one processor of the EGM (or personal gamingdevice) executes the computerized instructions to control any games (orother suitable interfaces) displayed by the EGM (or personal gamingdevice).

In various embodiments in which the system includes a plurality of EGMs(or personal gaming devices), one or more of the EGMs (or personalgaming devices) are thin client EGMs (or personal gaming devices) andone or more of the EGMs (or personal gaming devices) are thick clientEGMs (or personal gaming devices). In other embodiments in which thesystem includes one or more EGMs (or personal gaming devices), certainfunctions of one or more of the EGMs (or personal gaming devices) areimplemented in a thin client environment, and certain other functions ofone or more of the EGMs (or personal gaming devices) are implemented ina thick client environment. In one such embodiment in which the systemincludes an EGM (or personal gaming device) and a server, computerizedinstructions for controlling any primary or base games displayed by theEGM (or personal gaming device) are communicated from the server to theEGM (or personal gaming device) in a thick client configuration, andcomputerized instructions for controlling any secondary or bonus gamesor other functions displayed by the EGM (or personal gaming device) areexecuted by the server in a thin client configuration.

In certain embodiments in which the system includes: (a) an EGM (orpersonal gaming device) configured to communicate with a server througha data network; and/or (b) a plurality of EGMs (or personal gamingdevices) configured to communicate with one another through a datanetwork, the data network is a local area network (LAN) in which theEGMs (or personal gaming devices) are located substantially proximate toone another and/or the server. In one example, the EGMs (or personalgaming devices) and the server are located in a gaming establishment ora portion of a gaming establishment.

In other embodiments in which the system includes: (a) an EGM (orpersonal gaming device) configured to communicate with a server througha data network; and/or (b) a plurality of EGMs (or personal gamingdevices) configured to communicate with one another through a datanetwork, the data network is a wide area network (WAN) in which one ormore of the EGMs (or personal gaming devices) are not necessarilylocated substantially proximate to another one of the EGMs (or personalgaming devices) and/or the server. For example, one or more of the EGMs(or personal gaming devices) are located: (a) in an area of a gamingestablishment different from an area of the gaming establishment inwhich the server is located; or (b) in a gaming establishment differentfrom the gaming establishment in which the server is located. In anotherexample, the server is not located within a gaming establishment inwhich the EGMs (or personal gaming devices) are located. In certainembodiments in which the data network is a WAN, the system includes aserver and an EGM (or personal gaming device) each located in adifferent gaming establishment in a same geographic area, such as a samecity or a same state. Systems in which the data network is a WAN aresubstantially identical to systems in which the data network is a LAN,though the quantity of EGMs (or personal gaming devices) in such systemsmay vary relative to one another.

In further embodiments in which the system includes: (a) an EGM (orpersonal gaming device) configured to communicate with a server througha data network; and/or (b) a plurality of EGMs (or personal gamingdevices) configured to communicate with one another through a datanetwork, the data network is an internet (such as the Internet) or anintranet. In certain such embodiments, an Internet browser of the EGM(or personal gaming device) is usable to access an Internet game pagefrom any location where an Internet connection is available. In one suchembodiment, after the EGM (or personal gaming device) accesses theInternet game page, the server identifies a player before enabling thatplayer to place any wagers on any plays of any wagering games. In oneexample, the server identifies the player by requiring a player accountof the player to be logged into via an input of a unique username andpassword combination assigned to the player. The server may, however,identify the player in any other suitable manner, such as by validatinga player tracking identification number associated with the player; byreading a player tracking card or other smart card inserted into a cardreader (as described below); by validating a unique playeridentification number associated with the player by the server; or byidentifying the EGM (or personal gaming device), such as by identifyingthe MAC address or the IP address of the Internet facilitator. Invarious embodiments, once the server identifies the player, the serverenables placement of one or more wagers on one or more plays of one ormore primary or base games and/or one or more secondary or bonus games,and displays those plays via the Internet browser of the EGM (orpersonal gaming device).

The server and the EGM (or personal gaming device) are configured toconnect to the data network or remote communications link in anysuitable manner. In various embodiments, such a connection isaccomplished via: a conventional phone line or other data transmissionline, a digital subscriber line (DSL), a T-1 line, a coaxial cable, afiber optic cable, a wireless or wired routing device, a mobilecommunications network connection (such as a cellular network or mobileInternet network), or any other suitable medium. The expansion in thequantity of computing devices and the quantity and speed of Internetconnections in recent years increases opportunities for players to use avariety of EGMs (or personal gaming devices) to play games from anever-increasing quantity of remote sites. Additionally, the enhancedbandwidth of digital wireless communications may render such technologysuitable for some or all communications, particularly if suchcommunications are encrypted. Higher data transmission speeds may beuseful for enhancing the sophistication and response of the display andinteraction with players.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an example EGM 1000 and FIGS. 5A and 5Binclude two different example EGMs 2000 a and 2000 b. The EGMs 1000,2000 a, and 2000 b are merely example EGMs, and different EGMs may beimplemented using different combinations of the components shown in theEGMs 1000, 2000 a, and 2000 b. Although the below refers to EGMs, invarious embodiments personal gaming devices (such as personal gamingdevice 2000 c of FIG. 5C) may include some or all of the belowcomponents.

In these embodiments, the EGM 1000 includes a master gaming controller1012 configured to communicate with and to operate with a plurality ofperipheral devices 1022.

The master gaming controller 1012 includes at least one processor 1010.The at least one processor 1010 is any suitable processing device or setof processing devices, such as a microprocessor, a microcontroller-basedplatform, a suitable integrated circuit, or one or moreapplication-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), configured to executesoftware enabling various configuration and reconfiguration tasks, suchas: (1) communicating with a remote source (such as a server that storesauthentication information or game information) via a communicationinterface 1006 of the master gaming controller 1012; (2) convertingsignals read by an interface to a format corresponding to that used bysoftware or memory of the EGM; (3) accessing memory to configure orreconfigure game conditions in the memory according to indicia read fromthe EGM; (4) communicating with interfaces and the peripheral devices1022 (such as input/output devices); and/or (5) controlling theperipheral devices 1022. In certain embodiments, one or more componentsof the master gaming controller 1012 (such as the at least one processor1010) reside within a housing of the EGM (described below), while inother embodiments at least one component of the master gaming controller1012 resides outside of the housing of the EGM.

The master gaming controller 1012 also includes at least one memorydevice 1016, which includes: (1) volatile memory (e.g., RAM 1009, whichcan include non-volatile RAM, magnetic RAM, ferroelectric RAM, and anyother suitable forms); (2) non-volatile memory 1019 (e.g., disk memory,FLASH memory, EPROMs, EEPROMs, memristor-based non-volatile solid-statememory, etc.); (3) unalterable memory (e.g., EPROMs 1008); (4) read-onlymemory; and/or (5) a secondary memory storage device 1015, such as anon-volatile memory device, configured to store gaming software relatedinformation (the gaming software related information and the memory maybe used to store various audio files and games not currently being usedand invoked in a configuration or reconfiguration). Any other suitablemagnetic, optical, and/or semiconductor memory may operate inconjunction with the EGM of the present disclosure. In certainembodiments, the at least one memory device 1016 resides within thehousing of the EGM (described below), while in other embodiments atleast one component of the at least one memory device 1016 residesoutside of the housing of the EGM. In these embodiments, any combinationof one or more computer readable media may be utilized. The computerreadable media may be a computer readable signal medium or a computerreadable storage medium. A computer readable storage medium may be, forexample, but not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical,electromagnetic, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or anysuitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples (anon-exhaustive list) of the computer readable storage medium wouldinclude the following: a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, arandom access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasableprogrammable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an appropriateoptical fiber with a repeater, a portable compact disc read-only memory(CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or anysuitable combination of the foregoing. In the context of this document,a computer readable storage medium may be any tangible medium that cancontain, or store a program for use by or in connection with aninstruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

A computer readable signal medium may include a propagated data signalwith computer readable program code embodied therein, for example, inbaseband or as part of a carrier wave. Such a propagated signal may takeany of a variety of forms, including, but not limited to,electro-magnetic, optical, or any suitable combination thereof. Acomputer readable signal medium may be any computer readable medium thatis not a computer readable storage medium and that can communicate,propagate, or transport a program for use by or in connection with aninstruction execution system, apparatus, or device. Program codeembodied on a computer readable signal medium may be transmitted usingany appropriate medium, including but not limited to wireless, wireline,optical fiber cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination of theforegoing.

The at least one memory device 1016 is configured to store, for example:(1) configuration software 1014, such as all the conditions and settingsfor a game playable on the EGM; (2) associations 1018 betweenconfiguration indicia read from an EGM with one or more conditions andsettings; (3) communication protocols configured to enable the at leastone processor 1010 to communicate with the peripheral devices 1022;and/or (4) communication transport protocols (such as TCP/IP, USB,Firewire, IEEE1394, Bluetooth, IEEE 802.11x (IEEE 802.11 standards),hiperlan/2, HomeRF, etc.) configured to enable the EGM to communicatewith local and non-local devices using such protocols. In oneimplementation, the master gaming controller 1012 communicates withother devices using a serial communication protocol. A few non-limitingexamples of serial communication protocols that other devices, such asperipherals (e.g., a bill validator or a ticket printer), may use tocommunicate with the master game controller 1012 include USB, RS-232,and Netplex (a proprietary protocol developed by IGT).

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, aspects of the presentdisclosure may be illustrated and described herein in any of a number ofpatentable classes or context including any new and useful process,machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and usefulimprovement thereof. Accordingly, aspects of the present disclosure maybe implemented entirely hardware, entirely software (including firmware,resident software, micro-code, etc.) or combining software and hardwareimplementation that may all generally be referred to herein as a“circuit,” “module,” “component,” or “system.” Furthermore, aspects ofthe present disclosure may take the form of a computer program productembodied in one or more computer readable media having computer readableprogram code embodied thereon.

Computer program code for carrying out operations for aspects of thepresent disclosure may be written in any combination of one or moreprogramming languages, including an object oriented programming languagesuch as Java, Scala, Smalltalk, Eiffel, JADE, Emerald, C++, C#, VB.NET,Python or the like, conventional procedural programming languages, suchas the “C” programming language, Visual Basic, Fortran 2003, Perl, COBOL2002, PHP, ABAP, dynamic programming languages such as Python, Ruby andGroovy, or other programming languages. The program code may executeentirely on the user's computer, partly on the user's computer, as astand-alone software package, partly on the user's computer and partlyon a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server. Inthe latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user'scomputer through any type of network, including a local area network(LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to anexternal computer (for example, through the Internet using an InternetService Provider) or in a cloud computing environment or offered as aservice such as a Software as a Service (SaaS).

Aspects of the present disclosure are described herein with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatuses(systems) and computer program products according to embodiments of thedisclosure. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer program instructions. These computer program instructions maybe provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, specialpurpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus toproduce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via theprocessor of the computer or other programmable instruction executionapparatus, create a mechanism for implementing the functions/actsspecified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computerreadable medium that when executed can direct a computer, otherprogrammable data processing apparatus, or other devices to function ina particular manner, such that the instructions when stored in thecomputer readable medium produce an article of manufacture includinginstructions which when executed, cause a computer to implement thefunction/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block orblocks. The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto acomputer, other programmable instruction execution apparatus, or otherdevices to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on thecomputer, other programmable apparatuses or other devices to produce acomputer implemented process such that the instructions which execute onthe computer or other programmable apparatus provide processes forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks.

In certain embodiments, the at least one memory device 1016 isconfigured to store program code and instructions executable by the atleast one processor of the EGM to control the EGM. The at least onememory device 1016 of the EGM also stores other operating data, such asimage data, event data, input data, random number generators (RNGs) orpseudo-RNGs, paytable data or information, and/or applicable game rulesthat relate to the play of one or more games on the EGM. In variousembodiments, part or all of the program code and/or the operating datadescribed above is stored in at least one detachable or removable memorydevice including, but not limited to, a cartridge, a disk, a CD ROM, aDVD, a USB memory device, or any other suitable non-transitory computerreadable medium. In certain such embodiments, an operator (such as agaming establishment operator) and/or a player uses such a removablememory device in an EGM to implement at least part of the presentdisclosure. In other embodiments, part or all of the program code and/orthe operating data is downloaded to the at least one memory device ofthe EGM through any suitable data network described above (such as anInternet or intranet).

The at least one memory device 1016 also stores a plurality of devicedrivers 1042. Examples of different types of device drivers includedevice drivers for EGM components and device drivers for the peripheralcomponents 1022. Typically, the device drivers 1042 utilize variouscommunication protocols that enable communication with a particularphysical device. The device driver abstracts the hardware implementationof that device. For example, a device driver may be written for eachtype of card reader that could potentially be connected to the EGM.Non-limiting examples of communication protocols used to implement thedevice drivers include Netplex, USB, Serial, Ethernet 175, Firewire, I/Odebouncer, direct memory map, serial, PCI, parallel, RF, Bluetooth™,near-field communications (e.g., using near-field magnetics), 802.11(WiFi), etc. In one embodiment, when one type of a particular device isexchanged for another type of the particular device, the at least oneprocessor of the EGM loads the new device driver from the at least onememory device to enable communication with the new device. For instance,one type of card reader in the EGM can be replaced with a seconddifferent type of card reader when device drivers for both card readersare stored in the at least one memory device.

In certain embodiments, the software units stored in the at least onememory device 1016 can be upgraded as needed. For instance, when the atleast one memory device 1016 is a hard drive, new games, new gameoptions, new conditions, new settings for existing conditions, newsettings for new conditions, new device drivers, and new communicationprotocols can be uploaded to the at least one memory device 1016 fromthe master game controller 1012 or from some other external device. Asanother example, when the at least one memory device 1016 includes aCD/DVD drive including a CD/DVD configured to store game options,conditions, and settings, the software stored in the at least one memorydevice 1016 can be upgraded by replacing a first CD/DVD with a secondCD/DVD. In yet another example, when the at least one memory device 1016uses flash memory 1019 or EPROM 1008 units configured to store games,game options, conditions, and settings, the software stored in the flashand/or EPROM memory units can be upgraded by replacing one or morememory units with new memory units that include the upgraded software.In another embodiment, one or more of the memory devices, such as thehard drive, may be employed in a game software download process from aremote software server.

In some embodiments, the at least one memory device 1016 also storesauthentication and/or validation components 1044 configured toauthenticate/validate specified EGM components and/or information, suchas hardware components, software components, firmware components,peripheral device components, user input device components, informationreceived from one or more user input devices, information stored in theat least one memory device 1016, etc.

In certain embodiments, the peripheral devices 1022 include severaldevice interfaces, such as: (1) at least one output device 1020including at least one display device 1035; (2) at least one inputdevice 1030 (which may include contact and/or non-contact interfaces);(3) at least one transponder 1054; (4) at least one wirelesscommunication component 1056; (5) at least one wired/wireless powerdistribution component 1058; (6) at least one sensor 1060; (7) at leastone data preservation component 1062; (8) at least one motion/gestureanalysis and interpretation component 1064; (9) at least one motiondetection component 1066; (10) at least one portable power source 1068;(11) at least one geolocation module 1076; (12) at least one useridentification module 1077; (13) at least one player/device trackingmodule 1078; and (14) at least one information filtering module 1079.

The at least one output device 1020 includes at least one display device1035 configured to display any game(s) displayed by the EGM and anysuitable information associated with such game(s). In certainembodiments, the display devices are connected to or mounted on ahousing of the EGM (described below). In various embodiments, thedisplay devices serve as digital glass configured to advertise certaingames or other aspects of the gaming establishment in which the EGM islocated. In various embodiments, the EGM includes one or more of thefollowing display devices: (a) a central display device; (b) a playertracking display configured to display various information regarding aplayer's player tracking status (as described below); (c) a secondary orupper display device in addition to the central display device and theplayer tracking display; (d) a credit display configured to display acurrent quantity of credits, amount of cash, account balance, or theequivalent; and (e) a bet display configured to display an amountwagered for one or more plays of one or more games. The example EGM 2000a illustrated in FIG. 5A includes a central display device 2116, aplayer tracking display 2140, a credit display 2120, and a bet display2122. The example EGM 2000 b illustrated in FIG. 5B includes a centraldisplay device 2116, an upper display device 2118, a player trackingdisplay 2140, a credit display 2120, and a bet display 2122.

In various embodiments, the display devices include, without limitation:a monitor, a television display, a plasma display, a liquid crystaldisplay (LCD), a display based on light emitting diodes (LEDs), adisplay based on a plurality of organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), adisplay based on polymer light-emitting diodes (PLEDs), a display basedon a plurality of surface-conduction electron-emitters (SEDs), a displayincluding a projected and/or reflected image, or any other suitableelectronic device or display mechanism. In certain embodiments, asdescribed above, the display device includes a touch-screen with anassociated touch-screen controller. The display devices may be of anysuitable sizes, shapes, and configurations.

The display devices of the EGM are configured to display one or moregame and/or non-game images, symbols, and indicia. In certainembodiments, the display devices of the EGM are configured to displayany suitable visual representation or exhibition of the movement ofobjects; dynamic lighting; video images; images of people, characters,places, things, and faces of cards; and the like. In certainembodiments, the display devices of the EGM are configured to displayone or more video reels, one or more video wheels, and/or one or morevideo dice. In other embodiments, certain of the displayed images,symbols, and indicia are in mechanical form. That is, in theseembodiments, the display device includes any electromechanical device,such as one or more rotatable wheels, one or more reels, and/or one ormore dice, configured to display at least one or a plurality of game orother suitable images, symbols, or indicia.

In various embodiments, the at least one output device 1020 includes apayout device. In these embodiments, after the EGM receives an actuationof a cashout device (described below), the EGM causes the payout deviceto provide a payment to the player. In one embodiment, the payout deviceis one or more of: (a) a ticket printer and dispenser configured toprint and dispense a ticket or credit slip associated with a monetaryvalue, wherein the ticket or credit slip may be redeemed for itsmonetary value via a cashier, a kiosk, or other suitable redemptionsystem; (b) a bill dispenser configured to dispense paper currency; (c)a coin dispenser configured to dispense coins or tokens (such as into acoin payout tray); and (d) any suitable combination thereof. The exampleEGMs 2000 a and 2000 b illustrated in FIGS. 5A and 5B each include aticket printer and dispenser 2136.

In certain embodiments, rather than dispensing bills, coins, or aphysical ticket having a monetary value to the player following receiptof an actuation of the cashout device, the payout device is configuredto cause a payment to be provided to the player in the form of anelectronic funds transfer, such as via a direct deposit into a bankaccount, a casino account, or a prepaid account of the player; via atransfer of funds onto an electronically recordable identification cardor smart card of the player; or via sending a virtual ticket having amonetary value to an electronic device of the player.

While any credit balances, any wagers, any values, and any awards aredescribed herein as amounts of monetary credits or currency, one or moreof such credit balances, such wagers, such values, and such awards maybe for non-monetary credits, promotional credits, of player trackingpoints or credits.

In certain embodiments, the at least one output device 1020 is a soundgenerating device controlled by one or more sound cards. In one suchembodiment, the sound generating device includes one or more speakers orother sound generating hardware and/or software configured to generatesounds, such as by playing music for any games or by playing music forother modes of the EGM, such as an attract mode. The example EGMs 2000 aand 2000 b illustrated in FIGS. 5A and 5B each include a plurality ofspeakers 2150. In another such embodiment, the EGM provides dynamicsounds coupled with attractive multimedia images displayed on one ormore of the display devices to provide an audio-visual representation orto otherwise display full-motion video with sound to attract players tothe EGM. In certain embodiments, the EGM displays a sequence of audioand/or visual attraction messages during idle periods to attractpotential players to the EGM. The videos may be customized to provideany appropriate information.

The at least one input device 1030 may include any suitable device thatenables an input signal to be produced and received by the at least oneprocessor 1010 of the EGM.

In one embodiment, the at least one input device 1030 includes a paymentdevice configured to communicate with the at least one processor of theEGM to fund the EGM. In certain embodiments, the payment device includesone or more of: (a) a bill acceptor into which paper money is insertedto fund the EGM; (b) a ticket acceptor into which a ticket or a voucheris inserted to fund the EGM; (c) a coin slot into which coins or tokensare inserted to fund the EGM; (d) a reader or a validator for creditcards, debit cards, or credit slips into which a credit card, debitcard, or credit slip is inserted to fund the EGM; (e) a playeridentification card reader into which a player identification card isinserted to fund the EGM; or (f) any suitable combination thereof. Theexample EGMs 2000 a and 2000 b illustrated in FIGS. 5A and 5B eachinclude a combined bill and ticket acceptor 2128 and a coin slot 2126.

In one embodiment, the at least one input device 1030 includes a paymentdevice configured to enable the EGM to be funded via an electronic fundstransfer, such as a transfer of funds from a bank account. In anotherembodiment, the EGM includes a payment device configured to communicatewith a mobile device of a player, such as a mobile phone, a radiofrequency identification tag, or any other suitable wired or wirelessdevice, to retrieve relevant information associated with that player tofund the EGM. When the EGM is funded, the at least one processordetermines the amount of funds entered and displays the correspondingamount on a credit display or any other suitable display as describedbelow.

In certain embodiments, the at least one input device 1030 includes atleast one wagering or betting device. In various embodiments, the one ormore wagering or betting devices are each: (1) a mechanical buttonsupported by the housing of the EGM (such as a hard key or aprogrammable soft key), or (2) an icon displayed on a display device ofthe EGM (described below) that is actuatable via a touch screen of theEGM (described below) or via use of a suitable input device of the EGM(such as a mouse or a joystick). One such wagering or betting device isas a maximum wager or bet device that, when actuated, causes the EGM toplace a maximum wager on a play of a game. Another such wagering orbetting device is a repeat bet device that, when actuated, causes theEGM to place a wager that is equal to the previously-placed wager on aplay of a game. A further such wagering or betting device is a bet onedevice that, when actuated, causes the EGM to increase the wager by onecredit. Generally, upon actuation of one of the wagering or bettingdevices, the quantity of credits displayed in a credit meter (describedbelow) decreases by the amount of credits wagered, while the quantity ofcredits displayed in a bet display (described below) increases by theamount of credits wagered.

In various embodiments, the at least one input device 1030 includes atleast one game play activation device. In various embodiments, the oneor more game play initiation devices are each: (1) a mechanical buttonsupported by the housing of the EGM (such as a hard key or aprogrammable soft key), or (2) an icon displayed on a display device ofthe EGM (described below) that is actuatable via a touch screen of theEGM (described below) or via use of a suitable input device of the EGM(such as a mouse or a joystick). After a player appropriately funds theEGM and places a wager, the EGM activates the game play activationdevice to enable the player to actuate the game play activation deviceto initiate a play of a game on the EGM (or another suitable sequence ofevents associated with the EGM). After the EGM receives an actuation ofthe game play activation device, the EGM initiates the play of the game.The example EGMs 2000 a and 2000 b illustrated in FIGS. 5A and 5B eachinclude a game play activation device in the form of a game playinitiation button 2132. In other embodiments, the EGM begins game playautomatically upon appropriate funding rather than upon utilization ofthe game play activation device.

In other embodiments, the at least one input device 1030 includes acashout device. In various embodiments, the cashout device is: (1) amechanical button supported by the housing of the EGM (such as a hardkey or a programmable soft key), or (2) an icon displayed on a displaydevice of the EGM (described below) that is actuatable via a touchscreen of the EGM (described below) or via use of a suitable inputdevice of the EGM (such as a mouse or a joystick). When the EGM receivesan actuation of the cashout device from a player and the player has apositive (i.e., greater-than-zero) credit balance, the EGM initiates apayout associated with the player's credit balance. The example EGMs2000 a and 2000 b illustrated in FIGS. 5A and 5B each include a cashoutdevice in the form of a cashout button 2134.

In various embodiments, the at least one input device 1030 includes aplurality of buttons that are programmable by the EGM operator to, whenactuated, cause the EGM to perform particular functions. For instance,such buttons may be hard keys, programmable soft keys, or icons icondisplayed on a display device of the EGM (described below) that areactuatable via a touch screen of the EGM (described below) or via use ofa suitable input device of the EGM (such as a mouse or a joystick). Theexample EGMs 2000 a and 2000 b illustrated in FIGS. 5A and 5B eachinclude a plurality of such buttons 2130.

In certain embodiments, the at least one input device 1030 includes atouch-screen coupled to a touch-screen controller or othertouch-sensitive display overlay to enable interaction with any imagesdisplayed on a display device (as described below). One such inputdevice is a conventional touch-screen button panel. The touch-screen andthe touch-screen controller are connected to a video controller. Inthese embodiments, signals are input to the EGM by touching the touchscreen at the appropriate locations.

In embodiments including a player tracking system, as further describedbelow, the at least one input device 1030 includes a card reader incommunication with the at least one processor of the EGM. The exampleEGMs 2000 a and 2000 b illustrated in FIGS. 5A and 5B each include acard reader 2138. The card reader is configured to read a playeridentification card inserted into the card reader.

The at least one wireless communication component 1056 includes one ormore communication interfaces having different architectures andutilizing a variety of protocols, such as (but not limited to) 802.11(WiFi); 802.15 (including Bluetooth™); 802.16 (WiMax); 802.22; cellularstandards such as CDMA, CDMA2000, and WCDMA; Radio Frequency (e.g.,RFID); infrared; and Near Field Magnetic communication protocols. The atleast one wireless communication component 1056 transmits electrical,electromagnetic, or optical signals that carry digital data streams oranalog signals representing various types of information.

The at least one wired/wireless power distribution component 1058includes components or devices that are configured to provide power toother devices. For example, in one embodiment, the at least one powerdistribution component 1058 includes a magnetic induction system that isconfigured to provide wireless power to one or more user input devicesnear the EGM. In one embodiment, a user input device docking region isprovided, and includes a power distribution component that is configuredto recharge a user input device without requiring metal-to-metalcontact. In one embodiment, the at least one power distributioncomponent 1058 is configured to distribute power to one or more internalcomponents of the EGM, such as one or more rechargeable power sources(e.g., rechargeable batteries) located at the EGM.

In certain embodiments, the at least one sensor 1060 includes at leastone of: optical sensors, pressure sensors, RF sensors, infrared sensors,image sensors, thermal sensors, and biometric sensors. The at least onesensor 1060 may be used for a variety of functions, such as: detectingmovements and/or gestures of various objects within a predeterminedproximity to the EGM; detecting the presence and/or identity of variouspersons (e.g., players, casino employees, etc.), devices (e.g., userinput devices), and/or systems within a predetermined proximity to theEGM.

The at least one data preservation component 1062 is configured todetect or sense one or more events and/or conditions that, for example,may result in damage to the EGM and/or that may result in loss ofinformation associated with the EGM. Additionally, the data preservationsystem 1062 may be operable to initiate one or more appropriateaction(s) in response to the detection of such events/conditions.

The at least one motion/gesture analysis and interpretation component1064 is configured to analyze and/or interpret information relating todetected player movements and/or gestures to determine appropriateplayer input information relating to the detected player movementsand/or gestures. For example, in one embodiment, the at least onemotion/gesture analysis and interpretation component 1064 is configuredto perform one or more of the following functions: analyze the detectedgross motion or gestures of a player; interpret the player's motion orgestures (e.g., in the context of a casino game being played) toidentify instructions or input from the player; utilize the interpretedinstructions/input to advance the game state; etc. In other embodiments,at least a portion of these additional functions may be implemented at aremote system or device.

The at least one portable power source 1068 enables the EGM to operatein a mobile environment. For example, in one embodiment, the EGM 300includes one or more rechargeable batteries.

The at least one geolocation module 1076 is configured to acquiregeolocation information from one or more remote sources and use theacquired geolocation information to determine information relating to arelative and/or absolute position of the EGM. For example, in oneimplementation, the at least one geolocation module 1076 is configuredto receive GPS signal information for use in determining the position orlocation of the EGM. In another implementation, the at least onegeolocation module 1076 is configured to receive multiple wirelesssignals from multiple remote devices (e.g., EGMs, servers, wirelessaccess points, etc.) and use the signal information to computeposition/location information relating to the position or location ofthe EGM.

The at least one user identification module 1077 is configured todetermine the identity of the current user or current owner of the EGM.For example, in one embodiment, the current user is required to performa login process at the EGM in order to access one or more features.Alternatively, the EGM is configured to automatically determine theidentity of the current user based on one or more external signals, suchas an RFID tag or badge worn by the current user and that provides awireless signal to the EGM that is used to determine the identity of thecurrent user. In at least one embodiment, various security features areincorporated into the EGM to prevent unauthorized users from accessingconfidential or sensitive information.

The at least one information filtering module 1079 is configured toperform filtering (e.g., based on specified criteria) of selectedinformation to be displayed at one or more displays 1035 of the EGM.

In various embodiments, the EGM includes a plurality of communicationports configured to enable the at least one processor of the EGM tocommunicate with and to operate with external peripherals, such as:accelerometers, arcade sticks, bar code readers, bill validators,biometric input devices, bonus devices, button panels, card readers,coin dispensers, coin hoppers, display screens or other displays orvideo sources, expansion buses, information panels, keypads, lights,mass storage devices, microphones, motion sensors, motors, printers,reels, SCSI ports, solenoids, speakers, thumbsticks, ticket readers,touch screens, trackballs, touchpads, wheels, and wireless communicationdevices.

As generally described above, in certain embodiments, such as theexample EGMs 2000 a and 2000 b illustrated in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the EGMhas a support structure, housing, or cabinet that provides support for aplurality of the input devices and the output devices of the EGM.Further, the EGM is configured such that a player may operate it whilestanding or sitting. In various embodiments, the EGM is positioned on abase or stand, or is configured as a pub-style tabletop game (not shown)that a player may operate typically while sitting. As illustrated by thedifferent example EGMs 2000 a and 2000 b shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, EGMsmay have varying housing and display configurations.

In certain embodiments, the EGM is a device that has obtained approvalfrom a regulatory gaming commission, and in other embodiments, the EGMis a device that has not obtained approval from a regulatory gamingcommission.

The EGMs described above are merely three examples of different types ofEGMs. Certain of these example EGMs may include one or more elementsthat may not be included in all systems, and these example EGMs may notinclude one or more elements that are included in other systems. Forexample, certain EGMs include a coin acceptor while others do not.

In various embodiments, an EGM may be implemented in one of a variety ofdifferent configurations. In various embodiments, the EGM may beimplemented as one of: (a) a dedicated EGM in which computerized gameprograms executable by the EGM for controlling any primary or base games(referred to herein as “primary games”) and/or any secondary or bonusgames or other functions (referred to herein as “secondary games”)displayed by the EGM are provided with the EGM before delivery to agaming establishment or before being provided to a player; and (b) achangeable EGM in which computerized game programs executable by the EGMfor controlling any primary games and/or secondary games displayed bythe EGM are downloadable or otherwise transferred to the EGM through adata network or remote communication link; from a USB drive, flashmemory card, or other suitable memory device; or in any other suitablemanner after the EGM is physically located in a gaming establishment orafter the EGM is provided to a player.

As generally explained above, in various embodiments in which the systemincludes a server and a changeable EGM, the at least one memory deviceof the server stores different game programs and instructions executableby the at least one processor of the changeable EGM to control one ormore primary games and/or secondary games displayed by the changeableEGM. More specifically, each such executable game program represents adifferent game or a different type of game that the at least onechangeable EGM is configured to operate. In one example, certain of thegame programs are executable by the changeable EGM to operate gameshaving the same or substantially the same game play but differentpaytables. In different embodiments, each executable game program isassociated with a primary game, a secondary game, or both. In certainembodiments, an executable game program is executable by the at leastone processor of the at least one changeable EGM as a secondary game tobe played simultaneously with a play of a primary game (which may bedownloaded to or otherwise stored on the at least one changeable EGM),or vice versa.

In operation of such embodiments, the server is configured tocommunicate one or more of the stored executable game programs to the atleast one processor of the changeable EGM. In different embodiments, astored executable game program is communicated or delivered to the atleast one processor of the changeable EGM by: (a) embedding theexecutable game program in a device or a component (such as a microchipto be inserted into the changeable EGM); (b) writing the executable gameprogram onto a disc or other media; or (c) uploading or streaming theexecutable game program over a data network (such as a dedicated datanetwork). After the executable game program is communicated from theserver to the changeable EGM, the at least one processor of thechangeable EGM executes the executable game program to enable theprimary game and/or the secondary game associated with that executablegame program to be played using the display device(s) and/or the inputdevice(s) of the changeable EGM. That is, when an executable gameprogram is communicated to the at least one processor of the changeableEGM, the at least one processor of the changeable EGM changes the gameor the type of game that may be played using the changeable EGM.

In certain embodiments, the gaming system randomly determines any gameoutcome(s) (such as a win outcome) and/or award(s) (such as a quantityof credits to award for the win outcome) for a play of a primary gameand/or a play of a secondary game based on probability data. In certainsuch embodiments, this random determination is provided throughutilization of an RNG, such as a true RNG or a pseudo RNG, or any othersuitable randomization process. In one such embodiment, each gameoutcome or award is associated with a probability, and the gaming systemgenerates the game outcome(s) and/or the award(s) to be provided basedon the associated probabilities. In these embodiments, since the gamingsystem generates game outcomes and/or awards randomly or based on one ormore probability calculations, there is no certainty that the gamingsystem will ever provide any specific game outcome and/or award.

In certain embodiments, the gaming system maintains one or morepredetermined pools or sets of predetermined game outcomes and/orawards. In certain such embodiments, upon generation or receipt of agame outcome and/or award request, the gaming system independentlyselects one of the predetermined game outcomes and/or awards from theone or more pools or sets. The gaming system flags or marks the selectedgame outcome and/or award as used. Once a game outcome or an award isflagged as used, it is prevented from further selection from itsrespective pool or set; that is, the gaming system does not select thatgame outcome or award upon another game outcome and/or award request.The gaming system provides the selected game outcome and/or award.

In certain embodiments, the gaming system determines a predeterminedgame outcome and/or award based on the results of a bingo, keno, orlottery game. In certain such embodiments, the gaming system utilizesone or more bingo, keno, or lottery games to determine the predeterminedgame outcome and/or award provided for a primary game and/or a secondarygame. The gaming system is provided or associated with a bingo card.Each bingo card consists of a matrix or array of elements, wherein eachelement is designated with separate indicia. After a bingo card isprovided, the gaming system randomly selects or draws a plurality of theelements. As each element is selected, a determination is made as towhether the selected element is present on the bingo card. If theselected element is present on the bingo card, that selected element onthe provided bingo card is marked or flagged. This process of selectingelements and marking any selected elements on the provided bingo cardscontinues until one or more predetermined patterns are marked on one ormore of the provided bingo cards. After one or more predeterminedpatterns are marked on one or more of the provided bingo cards, gameoutcome and/or award is determined based, at least in part, on theselected elements on the provided bingo cards.

In certain embodiments in which the gaming system includes a server andan EGM, the EGM is configured to communicate with the server formonitoring purposes only. In such embodiments, the EGM determines thegame outcome(s) and/or award(s) to be provided in any of the mannersdescribed above, and the server monitors the activities and eventsoccurring on the EGM. In one such embodiment, the gaming system includesa real-time or online accounting and gaming information systemconfigured to communicate with the server. In this embodiment, theaccounting and gaming information system includes: (a) a player databaseconfigured to store player profiles, (b) a player tracking moduleconfigured to track players (as described below), and (c) a creditsystem configured to provide automated transactions.

As noted above, in various embodiments, the gaming system includes oneor more executable game programs executable by at least one processor ofthe gaming system to provide one or more primary games and one or moresecondary games. The primary game(s) and the secondary game(s) maycomprise any suitable games and/or wagering games, such as, but notlimited to: electro-mechanical or video slot or spinning reel typegames; video card games such as video draw poker, multi-hand video drawpoker, other video poker games, video blackjack games, and videobaccarat games; video keno games; video bingo games; and video selectiongames.

In certain embodiments in which the primary game is a slot or spinningreel type game, the gaming system includes one or more reels in eitheran electromechanical form with mechanical rotating reels or in a videoform with simulated reels and movement thereof. Each reel displays aplurality of indicia or symbols, such as bells, hearts, fruits, numbers,letters, bars, or other images that typically correspond to a themeassociated with the gaming system. In certain such embodiments, thegaming system includes one or more paylines associated with the reels.In certain embodiments, one or more of the reels are independent reelsor unisymbol reels. In such embodiments, each independent reel generatesand displays one symbol.

In various embodiments, one or more of the paylines is horizontal,vertical, circular, diagonal, angled, or any suitable combinationthereof. In other embodiments, each of one or more of the paylines isassociated with a plurality of adjacent symbol display areas on arequisite number of adjacent reels. In one such embodiment, one or morepaylines are formed between at least two symbol display areas that areadjacent to each other by either sharing a common side or sharing acommon corner (i.e., such paylines are connected paylines). The gamingsystem enables a wager to be placed on one or more of such paylines toactivate such paylines. In other embodiments in which one or morepaylines are formed between at least two adjacent symbol display areas,the gaming system enables a wager to be placed on a plurality of symboldisplay areas, which activates those symbol display areas.

In various embodiments, the gaming system provides one or more awardsafter a spin of the reels when specified types and/or configurations ofthe indicia or symbols on the reels occur on an active payline orotherwise occur in a winning pattern, occur on the requisite number ofadjacent reels, and/or occur in a scatter pay arrangement.

In certain embodiments, the gaming system employs a ways to win awarddetermination. In these embodiments, any outcome to be provided isdetermined based on a number of associated symbols that are generated inactive symbol display areas on the requisite number of adjacent reels(i.e., not on paylines passing through any displayed winning symbolcombinations). If a winning symbol combination is generated on thereels, one award for that occurrence of the generated winning symbolcombination is provided.

In various embodiments, the gaming system includes a progressive award.Typically, a progressive award includes an initial amount and anadditional amount funded through a portion of each wager placed toinitiate a play of a primary game. When one or more triggering eventsoccurs, the gaming system provides at least a portion of the progressiveaward. After the gaming system provides the progressive award, an amountof the progressive award is reset to the initial amount and a portion ofeach subsequent wager is allocated to the next progressive award.

As generally noted above, in addition to providing winning credits orother awards for one or more plays of the primary game(s), in variousembodiments the gaming system provides credits or other awards for oneor more plays of one or more secondary games. The secondary gametypically enables an award to be obtained addition to any award obtainedthrough play of the primary game(s). The secondary game(s) typicallyproduces a higher level of player excitement than the primary game(s)because the secondary game(s) provides a greater expectation of winningthan the primary game(s) and is accompanied with more attractive orunusual features than the primary game(s). The secondary game(s) may beany type of suitable game, either similar to or completely differentfrom the primary game.

In various embodiments, the gaming system automatically provides orinitiates the secondary game upon the occurrence of a triggering eventor the satisfaction of a qualifying condition. In other embodiments, thegaming system initiates the secondary game upon the occurrence of thetriggering event or the satisfaction of the qualifying condition andupon receipt of an initiation input. In certain embodiments, thetriggering event or qualifying condition is a selected outcome in theprimary game(s) or a particular arrangement of one or more indicia on adisplay device for a play of the primary game(s), such as a “BONUS”symbol appearing on three adjacent reels along a payline following aspin of the reels for a play of the primary game. In other embodiments,the triggering event or qualifying condition occurs based on a certainamount of game play (such as number of games, number of credits, amountof time) being exceeded, or based on a specified number of points beingearned during game play. Any suitable triggering event or qualifyingcondition or any suitable combination of a plurality of differenttriggering events or qualifying conditions may be employed.

In other embodiments, at least one processor of the gaming systemrandomly determines when to provide one or more plays of one or moresecondary games. In one such embodiment, no apparent reason is providedfor providing the secondary game. In this embodiment, qualifying for asecondary game is not triggered by the occurrence of an event in anyprimary game or based specifically on any of the plays of any primarygame. That is, qualification is provided without any explanation or,alternatively, with a simple explanation. In another such embodiment,the gaming system determines qualification for a secondary game at leastpartially based on a game triggered or symbol triggered event, such asat least partially based on play of a primary game.

In various embodiments, after qualification for a secondary game hasbeen determined, the secondary game participation may be enhancedthrough continued play on the primary game. Thus, in certainembodiments, for each secondary game qualifying event, such as asecondary game symbol, that is obtained, a given number of secondarygame wagering points or credits is accumulated in a “secondary gamemeter” configured to accrue the secondary game wagering credits orentries toward eventual participation in the secondary game. In one suchembodiment, the occurrence of multiple such secondary game qualifyingevents in the primary game results in an arithmetic or exponentialincrease in the number of secondary game wagering credits awarded. Inanother such embodiment, any extra secondary game wagering credits maybe redeemed during the secondary game to extend play of the secondarygame.

In certain embodiments, no separate entry fee or buy-in for thesecondary game is required. That is, entry into the secondary gamecannot be purchased; rather, in these embodiments entry must be won orearned through play of the primary game, thereby encouraging play of theprimary game. In other embodiments, qualification for the secondary gameis accomplished through a simple “buy-in.” For example, qualificationthrough other specified activities is unsuccessful, payment of a fee orplacement of an additional wager “buys-in” to the secondary game. Incertain embodiments, a separate side wager must be placed on thesecondary game or a wager of a designated amount must be placed on theprimary game to enable qualification for the secondary game. In theseembodiments, the secondary game triggering event must occur and the sidewager (or designated primary game wager amount) must have been placedfor the secondary game to trigger.

In various embodiments in which the system includes a plurality of EGMs,the EGMs are configured to communicate with one another to provide agroup gaming environment. In certain such embodiments, the EGMs enableplayers of those EGMs to work in conjunction with one another, such asby enabling the players to play together as a team or group, to win oneor more awards. In other such embodiments, the EGMs enable players ofthose EGMs to compete against one another for one or more awards. In onesuch embodiment, the EGMs enable the players of those EGMs toparticipate in one or more gaming tournaments for one or more awards.

In various embodiments, the system includes one or more player trackingsystems. Such player tracking systems enable operators of the system(such as casinos or other gaming establishments) to recognize the valueof customer loyalty by identifying frequent customers and rewarding themfor their patronage. Such a player tracking system is configured totrack a player's gaming activity. In one such embodiment, the playertracking system does so through the use of player tracking cards. Inthis embodiment, a player is issued a player identification card thathas an encoded player identification number that uniquely identifies theplayer. When the player's playing tracking card is inserted into a cardreader of the system to begin a gaming session, the card reader readsthe player identification number off the player tracking card toidentify the player. The system timely tracks any suitable informationor data relating to the identified player's gaming session. The systemalso timely tracks when the player tracking card is removed to concludeplay for that gaming session. In another embodiment, rather thanrequiring insertion of a player tracking card into the card reader, thesystem utilizes one or more portable devices, such as a mobile phone, aradio frequency identification tag, or any other suitable wirelessdevice, to track when a gaming session begins and ends. In anotherembodiment, the system utilizes any suitable biometric technology orticket technology to track when a gaming session begins and ends.

In such embodiments, during one or more gaming sessions, the systemtracks any suitable information or data, such as any amounts wagered,average wager amounts, and/or the time at which these wagers are placed.In different embodiments, for one or more players, the player trackingsystem includes the player's account number, the player's card number,the player's first name, the player's surname, the player's preferredname, the player's player tracking ranking, any promotion statusassociated with the player's player tracking card, the player's address,the player's birthday, the player's anniversary, the player's recentgaming sessions, or any other suitable data. In various embodiments,such tracked information and/or any suitable feature associated with theplayer tracking system is displayed on a player tracking display. Invarious embodiments, such tracked information and/or any suitablefeature associated with the player tracking system is displayed via oneor more service windows that are displayed on the central display deviceand/or the upper display device.

In various embodiments, the system includes one or more serversconfigured to communicate with a personal gaming device—such as asmartphone, a tablet computer, a desktop computer, or a laptopcomputer—to enable web-based game play using the personal gaming device.In various embodiments, the player must first access a gaming websitevia an Internet browser of the personal gaming device or execute anapplication (commonly called an “app”) installed on the personal gamingdevice before the player can use the personal gaming device toparticipate in web-based game play. In certain embodiments, the one ormore servers and the personal gaming device operate in a thin-clientenvironment. In these embodiments, the personal gaming device receivesinputs via one or more input devices (such as a touch screen and/orphysical buttons), the personal gaming device sends the received inputsto the one or more servers, the one or more servers make variousdeterminations based on the inputs and determine content to be displayed(such as a randomly determined game outcome and corresponding award),the one or more servers send the content to the personal gaming device,and the personal gaming device displays the content.

In certain such embodiments, the one or more servers must identify theplayer before enabling game play on the personal gaming device (or, insome embodiments, before enabling monetary wager-based game play on thepersonal gaming device). In these embodiments, the player must identifyherself to the one or more servers, such as by inputting the player'sunique username and password combination, providing an input to abiometric sensor (e.g., a fingerprint sensor, a retinal sensor, a voicesensor, or a facial-recognition sensor), or providing any other suitableinformation.

Once identified, the one or more servers enable the player to establishan account balance from which the player can draw credits usable towager on plays of a game. In certain embodiments, the one or moreservers enable the player to initiate an electronic funds transfer totransfer funds from a bank account to the player's account balance. Inother embodiments, the one or more servers enable the player to make apayment using the player's credit card, debit card, or other suitabledevice to add money to the player's account balance. In otherembodiments, the one or more servers enable the player to add money tothe player's account balance via a peer-to-peer type application, suchas PayPal or Venmo. The one or more servers also enable the player tocash out the player's account balance (or part of it) in any suitablemanner, such as via an electronic funds transfer, by initiating creationof a paper check that is mailed to the player, or by initiating printingof a voucher at a kiosk in a gaming establishment.

In certain embodiments, the one or more servers include a payment serverthat handles establishing and cashing out players' account balances anda separate game server configured to determine the outcome and anyassociated award for a play of a game. In these embodiments, the gameserver is configured to communicate with the personal gaming device andthe payment device, and the personal gaming device and the paymentdevice are not configured to directly communicate with one another. Inthese embodiments, when the game server receives data representing arequest to start a play of a game at a desired wager, the game serversends data representing the desired wager to the payment server. Thepayment server determines whether the player's account balance can coverthe desired wager (i.e., includes a monetary balance at least equal tothe desired wager).

If the payment server determines that the player's account balancecannot cover the desired wager, the payment server notifies the gameserver, which then instructs the personal gaming device to display asuitable notification to the player that the player's account balance istoo low to place the desired wager. If the payment server determinesthat the player's account balance can cover the desired wager, thepayment server deducts the desired wager from the account balance andnotifies the game server. The game server then determines an outcome andany associated award for the play of the game. The game server notifiesthe payment server of any nonzero award, and the payment serverincreases the player's account balance by the nonzero award. The gameserver sends data representing the outcome and any award to the personalgaming device, which displays the outcome and any award.

In certain embodiments, the one or more servers enable web-based gameplay using a personal gaming device only if the personal gaming devicesatisfies one or more jurisdictional requirements. In one embodiment,the one or more servers enable web-based game play using the personalgaming device only if the personal gaming device is located within adesignated geographic area (such as within certain state or county linesor within the boundaries of a gaming establishment). In this embodiment,the geolocation module of the personal gaming device determines thelocation of the personal gaming device and sends the location to the oneor more servers, which determine whether the personal gaming device islocated within the designated geographic area. In various embodiments,the one or more servers enable non-monetary wager-based game play if thepersonal gaming device is located outside of the designated geographicarea.

In various embodiments, the system includes an EGM configured tocommunicate with a personal gaming device—such as a smartphone, a tabletcomputer, a desktop computer, or a laptop computer—to enable tetheredmobile game play using the personal gaming device. Generally, in theseembodiments, the EGM establishes communication with the personal gamingdevice and enables the player to play games on the EGM remotely via thepersonal gaming device. In certain embodiments, the system includes ageo-fence system that enables tethered game play within a particulargeographic area but not outside of that geographic area.

In certain embodiments, the system is configured to communicate with asocial network server that hosts or partially hosts a social networkingwebsite via a data network (such as the Internet) to integrate aplayer's gaming experience with the player's social networking account.This enables the system to send certain information to the socialnetwork server that the social network server can use to create content(such as text, an image, and/or a video) and post it to the player'swall, newsfeed, or similar area of the social networking websiteaccessible by the player's connections (and in certain cases the public)such that the player's connections can view that information. This alsoenables the system to receive certain information from the socialnetwork server, such as the player's likes or dislikes or the player'slist of connections. In certain embodiments, the system enables theplayer to link the player's player account to the player's socialnetworking account(s). This enables the system to, once it identifiesthe player and initiates a gaming session (such as via the playerlogging in to a website (or an application) on the player's personalgaming device or via the player inserting the player's player trackingcard into an EGM), link that gaming session to the player's socialnetworking account(s). In other embodiments, the system enables theplayer to link the player's social networking account(s) to individualgaming sessions when desired by providing the required logininformation.

For instance, in one embodiment, if a player wins a particular award(e.g., a progressive award or a jackpot award) or an award that exceedsa certain threshold (e.g., an award exceeding $1,000), the system sendsinformation about the award to the social network server to enable theserver to create associated content (such as a screenshot of the outcomeand associated award) and to post that content to the player's wall (orother suitable area) of the social networking website for the player'sconnections to see (and to entice them to play). In another embodiment,if a player joins a multiplayer game and there is another seatavailable, the system sends that information to the social network severto enable the server to create associated content (such as textindicating a vacancy for that particular game) and to post that contentto the player's wall (or other suitable area) of the social networkingwebsite for the player's connections to see (and to entice them to fillthe vacancy). In another embodiment, if the player consents, the systemsends advertisement information or offer information to the socialnetwork server to enable the social network server to create associatedcontent (such as text or an image reflecting an advertisement and/or anoffer) and to post that content to the player's wall (or other suitablearea) of the social networking website for the player's connections tosee. In another embodiment, the system enables the player to recommend agame to the player's connections by posting a recommendation to theplayer's wall (or other suitable area) of the social networking website.

Certain of the gaming systems described herein, such as EGMs located ina casino or another gaming establishment, include certain componentsand/or are configured to operate in certain manners that differentiatethese systems from general purpose computing devices, i.e., certainpersonal gaming devices such as desktop computers and laptop computers.

For instance, EGMs are highly regulated to ensure fairness and, in manycases, EGMs are configured to award monetary awards up to multiplemillions of dollars. To satisfy security and regulatory requirements ina gaming environment, hardware and/or software architectures areimplemented in EGMs that differ significantly from those of generalpurpose computing devices. For purposes of illustration, a descriptionof EGMs relative to general purpose computing devices and some examplesof these additional (or different) hardware and/or softwarearchitectures found in EGMs are described below.

At first glance, one might think that adapting general purpose computingdevice technologies to the gaming industry and EGMs would be a simpleproposition because both general purpose computing devices and EGMsemploy processors that control a variety of devices. However, due to atleast: (1) the regulatory requirements placed on EGMs, (2) the harshenvironment in which EGMs operate, (3) security requirements, and (4)fault tolerance requirements, adapting general purpose computing devicetechnologies to EGMs can be quite difficult. Further, techniques andmethods for solving a problem in the general purpose computing deviceindustry, such as device compatibility and connectivity issues, mightnot be adequate in the gaming industry. For instance, a fault or aweakness tolerated in a general purpose computing device, such assecurity holes in software or frequent crashes, is not tolerated in anEGM because in an EGM these faults can lead to a direct loss of fundsfrom the EGM, such as stolen cash or loss of revenue when the EGM is notoperating properly or when the random outcome determination ismanipulated.

Certain differences between general purpose computing devices and EGMsare described below. A first difference between EGMs and general purposecomputing devices is that EGMs are state-based systems. A state-basedsystem stores and maintains its current state in a non-volatile memorysuch that, in the event of a power failure or other malfunction, thestate-based system can return to that state when the power is restoredor the malfunction is remedied. For instance, for a state-based EGM, ifthe EGM displays an award for a game of chance but the power to the EGMfails before the EGM provides the award to the player, the EGM storesthe pre-power failure state in a non-volatile memory, returns to thatstate upon restoration of power, and provides the award to the player.This requirement affects the software and hardware design on EGMs.General purpose computing devices are not state-based machines, and amajority of data is usually lost when a malfunction occurs on a generalpurpose computing device.

A second difference between EGMs and general purpose computing devicesis that, for regulatory purposes, the software on the EGM utilized tooperate the EGM has been designed to be static and monolithic to preventcheating by the operator of the EGM. For instance, one solution that hasbeen employed in the gaming industry to prevent cheating and to satisfyregulatory requirements has been to manufacture an EGM that can use aproprietary processor running instructions to provide the game of chancefrom an EPROM or other form of non-volatile memory. The codinginstructions on the EPROM are static (non-changeable) and must beapproved by a gaming regulators in a particular jurisdiction andinstalled in the presence of a person representing the gamingjurisdiction. Any changes to any part of the software required togenerate the game of chance, such as adding a new device driver used tooperate a device during generation of the game of chance, can requireburning a new EPROM approved by the gaming jurisdiction and reinstallingthe new EPROM on the EGM in the presence of a gaming regulator.Regardless of whether the EPROM solution is used, to gain approval inmost gaming jurisdictions, an EGM must demonstrate sufficient safeguardsthat prevent an operator or a player of an EGM from manipulating theEGM's hardware and software in a manner that gives him an unfair, and insome cases illegal, advantage.

A third difference between EGMs and general purpose computing devices isauthentication—EGMs storing code are configured to authenticate the codeto determine if the code is unaltered before executing the code. If thecode has been altered, the EGM prevents the code from being executed.The code authentication requirements in the gaming industry affect bothhardware and software designs on EGMs. Certain EGMs use hash functionsto authenticate code. For instance, one EGM stores game program code, ahash function, and an authentication hash (which may be encrypted).Before executing the game program code, the EGM hashes the game programcode using the hash function to obtain a result hash and compares theresult hash to the authentication hash. If the result hash matches theauthentication hash, the EGM determines that the game program code isvalid and executes the game program code. If the result hash does notmatch the authentication hash, the EGM determines that the game programcode has been altered (i.e., may have been tampered with) and preventsexecution of the game program code.

A fourth difference between EGMs and general purpose computing devicesis that EGMs have unique peripheral device requirements that differ fromthose of a general purpose computing device, such as peripheral devicesecurity requirements not usually addressed by general purpose computingdevices. For instance, monetary devices, such as coin dispensers, billvalidators, and ticket printers and computing devices that are used togovern the input and output of cash or other items having monetary value(such as tickets) to and from an EGM have security requirements that arenot typically addressed in general purpose computing devices. Therefore,many general purpose computing device techniques and methods developedto facilitate device connectivity and device compatibility do notaddress the emphasis placed on security in the gaming industry.

To address some of the issues described above, a number ofhardware/software components and architectures are utilized in EGMs thatare not typically found in general purpose computing devices. Thesehardware/software components and architectures, as described below inmore detail, include but are not limited to watchdog timers, voltagemonitoring systems, state-based software architecture and supportinghardware, specialized communication interfaces, security monitoring, andtrusted memory.

Certain EGMs use a watchdog timer to provide a software failuredetection mechanism. In a normally-operating EGM, the operating softwareperiodically accesses control registers in the watchdog timer subsystemto “re-trigger” the watchdog. Should the operating software fail toaccess the control registers within a preset timeframe, the watchdogtimer will timeout and generate a system reset. Typical watchdog timercircuits include a loadable timeout counter register to enable theoperating software to set the timeout interval within a certain range oftime. A differentiating feature of some circuits is that the operatingsoftware cannot completely disable the function of the watchdog timer.In other words, the watchdog timer always functions from the time poweris applied to the board.

Certain EGMs use several power supply voltages to operate portions ofthe computer circuitry. These can be generated in a central power supplyor locally on the computer board. If any of these voltages falls out ofthe tolerance limits of the circuitry they power, unpredictableoperation of the EGM may result. Though most modern general purposecomputing devices include voltage monitoring circuitry, these types ofcircuits only report voltage status to the operating software. Out oftolerance voltages can cause software malfunction, creating a potentialuncontrolled condition in the general purpose computing device. CertainEGMs have power supplies with relatively tighter voltage margins thanthat required by the operating circuitry. In addition, the voltagemonitoring circuitry implemented in certain EGMs typically has twothresholds of control. The first threshold generates a software eventthat can be detected by the operating software and an error conditionthen generated. This threshold is triggered when a power supply voltagefalls out of the tolerance range of the power supply, but is stillwithin the operating range of the circuitry. The second threshold is setwhen a power supply voltage falls out of the operating tolerance of thecircuitry. In this case, the circuitry generates a reset, haltingoperation of the EGM.

As described above, certain EGMs are state-based machines. Differentfunctions of the game provided by the EGM (e.g., bet, play, result,points in the graphical presentation, etc.) may be defined as a state.When the EGM moves a game from one state to another, the EGM storescritical data regarding the game software in a custom non-volatilememory subsystem. This ensures that the player's wager and credits arepreserved and to minimize potential disputes in the event of amalfunction on the EGM. In general, the EGM does not advance from afirst state to a second state until critical information that enablesthe first state to be reconstructed has been stored. This featureenables the EGM to recover operation to the current state of play in theevent of a malfunction, loss of power, etc. that occurred just beforethe malfunction. In at least one embodiment, the EGM is configured tostore such critical information using atomic transactions.

Generally, an atomic operation in computer science refers to a set ofoperations that can be combined so that they appear to the rest of thesystem to be a single operation with only two possible outcomes: successor failure. As related to data storage, an atomic transaction may becharacterized as series of database operations which either all occur,or all do not occur. A guarantee of atomicity prevents updates to thedatabase occurring only partially, which can result in data corruption.

To ensure the success of atomic transactions relating to criticalinformation to be stored in the EGM memory before a failure event (e.g.,malfunction, loss of power, etc.), memory that includes one or more ofthe following criteria be used: direct memory access capability; dataread/write capability which meets or exceeds minimum read/write accesscharacteristics (such as at least 5.08 Mbytes/sec (Read) and/or at least38.0 Mbytes/sec (Write)). Memory devices that meet or exceed the abovecriteria may be referred to as “fault-tolerant” memory devices.

Typically, battery-backed RAM devices may be configured to function asfault-tolerant devices according to the above criteria, whereas flashRAM and/or disk drive memory are typically not configurable to functionas fault-tolerant devices according to the above criteria. Accordingly,battery-backed RAM devices are typically used to preserve EGM criticaldata, although other types of non-volatile memory devices may beemployed. These memory devices are typically not used in typical generalpurpose computing devices.

Thus, in at least one embodiment, the EGM is configured to storecritical information in fault-tolerant memory (e.g., battery-backed RAMdevices) using atomic transactions. Further, in at least one embodiment,the fault-tolerant memory is able to successfully complete all desiredatomic transactions (e.g., relating to the storage of EGM criticalinformation) within a time period of 200 milliseconds or less. In atleast one embodiment, the time period of 200 milliseconds represents amaximum amount of time for which sufficient power may be available tothe various EGM components after a power outage event has occurred atthe EGM.

As described previously, the EGM may not advance from a first state to asecond state until critical information that enables the first state tobe reconstructed has been atomically stored. After the state of the EGMis restored during the play of a game of chance, game play may resumeand the game may be completed in a manner that is no different than ifthe malfunction had not occurred. Thus, for example, when a malfunctionoccurs during a game of chance, the EGM may be restored to a state inthe game of chance just before when the malfunction occurred. Therestored state may include metering information and graphicalinformation that was displayed on the EGM in the state before themalfunction. For example, when the malfunction occurs during the play ofa card game after the cards have been dealt, the EGM may be restoredwith the cards that were previously displayed as part of the card game.As another example, a bonus game may be triggered during the play of agame of chance in which a player is required to make a number ofselections on a video display screen. When a malfunction has occurredafter the player has made one or more selections, the EGM may berestored to a state that shows the graphical presentation just beforethe malfunction including an indication of selections that have alreadybeen made by the player. In general, the EGM may be restored to anystate in a plurality of states that occur in the game of chance thatoccurs while the game of chance is played or to states that occurbetween the play of a game of chance.

Game history information regarding previous games played such as anamount wagered, the outcome of the game, and the like may also be storedin a non-volatile memory device. The information stored in thenon-volatile memory may be detailed enough to reconstruct a portion ofthe graphical presentation that was previously presented on the EGM andthe state of the EGM (e.g., credits) at the time the game of chance wasplayed. The game history information may be utilized in the event of adispute. For example, a player may decide that in a previous game ofchance that they did not receive credit for an award that they believedthey won. The game history information may be used to reconstruct thestate of the EGM before, during, and/or after the disputed game todemonstrate whether the player was correct or not in the player'sassertion.

Another feature of EGMs is that they often include unique interfaces,including serial interfaces, to connect to specific subsystems internaland external to the EGM. The serial devices may have electricalinterface requirements that differ from the “standard” EIA serialinterfaces provided by general purpose computing devices. Theseinterfaces may include, for example, Fiber Optic Serial, opticallycoupled serial interfaces, current loop style serial interfaces, etc. Inaddition, to conserve serial interfaces internally in the EGM, serialdevices may be connected in a shared, daisy-chain fashion in whichmultiple peripheral devices are connected to a single serial channel.

The serial interfaces may be used to transmit information usingcommunication protocols that are unique to the gaming industry. Forexample, IGT's Netplex is a proprietary communication protocol used forserial communication between EGMs. As another example, SAS is acommunication protocol used to transmit information, such as meteringinformation, from an EGM to a remote device. Often SAS is used inconjunction with a player tracking system.

Certain EGMs may alternatively be treated as peripheral devices to acasino communication controller and connected in a shared daisy chainfashion to a single serial interface. In both cases, the peripheraldevices are assigned device addresses. If so, the serial controllercircuitry must implement a method to generate or detect unique deviceaddresses. General purpose computing device serial ports are not able todo this.

Security monitoring circuits detect intrusion into an EGM by monitoringsecurity switches attached to access doors in the EGM cabinet. Accessviolations result in suspension of game play and can trigger additionalsecurity operations to preserve the current state of game play. Thesecircuits also function when power is off by use of a battery backup. Inpower-off operation, these circuits continue to monitor the access doorsof the EGM. When power is restored, the EGM can determine whether anysecurity violations occurred while power was off, e.g., via software forreading status registers. This can trigger event log entries and furtherdata authentication operations by the EGM software.

Trusted memory devices and/or trusted memory sources are included in anEGM to ensure the authenticity of the software that may be stored onless secure memory subsystems, such as mass storage devices. Trustedmemory devices and controlling circuitry are typically designed to notenable modification of the code and data stored in the memory devicewhile the memory device is installed in the EGM. The code and datastored in these devices may include authentication algorithms, randomnumber generators, authentication keys, operating system kernels, etc.The purpose of these trusted memory devices is to provide gamingregulatory authorities a root trusted authority within the computingenvironment of the EGM that can be tracked and verified as original.This may be accomplished via removal of the trusted memory device fromthe EGM computer and verification of the secure memory device contentsis a separate third party verification device. Once the trusted memorydevice is verified as authentic, and based on the approval of theverification algorithms included in the trusted device, the EGM isenabled to verify the authenticity of additional code and data that maybe located in the gaming computer assembly, such as code and data storedon hard disk drives.

In at least one embodiment, at least a portion of the trusted memorydevices/sources may correspond to memory that cannot easily be altered(e.g., “unalterable memory”) such as EPROMS, PROMS, Bios, Extended Bios,and/or other memory sources that are able to be configured, verified,and/or authenticated (e.g., for authenticity) in a secure and controlledmanner.

According to one embodiment, when a trusted information source is incommunication with a remote device via a network, the remote device mayemploy a verification scheme to verify the identity of the trustedinformation source. For example, the trusted information source and theremote device may exchange information using public and privateencryption keys to verify each other's identities. In anotherembodiment, the remote device and the trusted information source mayengage in methods using zero knowledge proofs to authenticate each oftheir respective identities.

EGMs storing trusted information may utilize apparatuses or methods todetect and prevent tampering. For instance, trusted information storedin a trusted memory device may be encrypted to prevent its misuse. Inaddition, the trusted memory device may be secured behind a locked door.Further, one or more sensors may be coupled to the memory device todetect tampering with the memory device and provide some record of thetampering. In yet another example, the memory device storing trustedinformation might be designed to detect tampering attempts and clear orerase itself when an attempt at tampering has been detected.

Mass storage devices used in a general purpose computing devicestypically enable code and data to be read from and written to the massstorage device. In a gaming environment, modification of the gaming codestored on a mass storage device is strictly controlled and would only beenabled under specific maintenance type events with electronic andphysical enablers required. Though this level of security could beprovided by software, EGMs that include mass storage devices includehardware level mass storage data protection circuitry that operates atthe circuit level to monitor attempts to modify data on the mass storagedevice and will generate both software and hardware error triggersshould a data modification be attempted without the proper electronicand physical enablers being present.

It should be appreciated that the terminology used herein is for thepurpose of describing particular aspects only and is not intended to belimiting of the disclosure. For example, the singular forms “a”, “an”and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless thecontext clearly indicates otherwise. In another example, the terms“including” and “comprising” and variations thereof, when used in thisspecification, specify the presence of stated features, steps,operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude thepresence or addition of one or more other features, steps, operations,elements, components, and/or groups thereof. Additionally, a listing ofitems does not imply that any or all of the items are mutually exclusivenor does a listing of items imply that any or all of the items arecollectively exhaustive of anything or in a particular order, unlessexpressly specified otherwise. Moreover, as used herein, the term“and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of theassociated listed items. It should be further appreciated that headingsof sections provided in this document and the title are for convenienceonly, and are not to be taken as limiting the disclosure in any way.Furthermore, unless expressly specified otherwise, devices that are incommunication with each other need not be in continuous communicationwith each other and may communicate directly or indirectly through oneor more intermediaries.

Various changes and modifications to the present embodiments describedherein will be apparent to those skilled in the art. For example, adescription of an embodiment with several components in communicationwith each other does not imply that all such components are required, orthat each of the disclosed components must communicate with every othercomponent. On the contrary a variety of optional components aredescribed to illustrate the wide variety of possible embodiments of thepresent disclosure. As such, these changes and modifications can be madewithout departing from the spirit and scope of the present subjectmatter and without diminishing its intended technical scope. It istherefore intended that such changes and modifications be covered by theappended claims.

1. A system comprising: a processor; and a memory device that stores aplurality of instructions that, when executed by the processor, causethe processor to: responsive to a receipt of data associated with aplacement of a first sporting event wager on a first outcome of a firstsporting event that is associated with first odds of occurring:determine a first quantity of chances to randomly win a progressiveaward, wherein the first quantity of chances to randomly win theprogressive award is based on the first odds of the first outcome of thefirst sporting event occurring, associate the first quantity of chancesto randomly win the progressive award with the first sporting eventwager, and cause a first sporting event wager ticket voucher associatedwith the first sporting event wager to be issued, and responsive to areceipt of data associated with a placement of a second, differentsporting event wager on a second outcome of a second sporting event thatis associated with second, different odds of occurring: determine asecond, different quantity of chances to randomly win the progressiveaward, wherein the second, different quantity of chances to randomly winthe progressive award is based on the second, different odds of thesecond outcome of the second sporting event occurring, associate thesecond, different quantity of chances to randomly win the progressiveaward with the second, different sporting event wager, and cause asecond sporting event wager ticket voucher associated with the secondsporting event wager to be issued.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein thememory device stores a plurality of further instructions that: whenexecuted by the processor responsive to the receipt of data associatedwith the placement of the first sporting event wager, cause theprocessor to cause a first portion of a first amount of the firstsporting event wager to be contributed to the progressive award, andwhen executed by the processor responsive to the receipt of dataassociated with the placement of the second, different sporting eventwager, cause the processor to cause a second portion of a second amountof the second, different sporting event wager to be contributed to theprogressive award.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein the first outcomeof the first sporting event comprises a plurality of first outcomes of aplurality of first sporting events and the first odds are based on eachof the plurality of first outcomes of each of the plurality of firstsporting events occurring.
 4. The system of claim 3, wherein the secondoutcome of the second sporting event comprises a plurality of secondoutcomes of a plurality of second sporting events and the second,different odds are based on each of the plurality of second outcomes ofeach of the plurality of second sporting events occurring.
 5. The systemof claim 1, wherein the first odds are determined after a determinationof the first outcome of the first sporting event.
 6. The system of claim5, wherein the second, different odds are determined after adetermination of the second outcome of the second sporting event.
 7. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the first quantity of chances to randomly winthe progressive award is based on an amount of the first sporting eventwager.
 8. The system of claim 1, wherein the first quantity of chancesto randomly win the progressive award is based on an identity of a userwhom placed the first sporting event wager.
 9. The system of claim 1,wherein any of the first sporting event and the second sporting eventcomprises one of a live sporting event, a historic sporting event and anelectronic sporting event.
 10. The system of claim 1, wherein any of thefirst outcome of the first sporting event and the second outcome of thesecond sporting event comprises an outcome of an in-game event.
 11. Asystem comprising: a processor; and a memory device that stores aplurality of instructions that, when executed by the processorresponsive to a redemption of a winning sporting event wager associatedwith an issued sporting event wager ticket voucher, cause the processorto: determine a quantity of chances to win a progressive award, whereindifferent odds associated with different sporting event wagers areassociated with different quantities of chances to win the progressiveaward, and for each of the quantity of chances to win the progressiveaward: randomly determine if that chance to win the progressive award isa winning chance, and responsive to that chance to win the progressiveaward being a winning chance, communicate data which results in adisplay, by a display device, of a notification of winning theprogressive award.
 12. The system of claim 11, wherein the memory devicestores a plurality of further instructions that, when executed by theprocessor responsive to one of the chances to win the progressive awardbeing the winning chance, cause the processor to communicate data whichresults in an increase of a balance based on an amount of theprogressive award.
 13. The system of claim 11, wherein the memory devicestores a plurality of further instructions that, when executed by theprocessor responsive to none of the chances to win the progressive awardbeing the winning chance, cause the processor to communicate data whichresults in a display, by the display device, of a notification of notwinning the progressive award.
 14. (canceled)
 15. The system of claim11, wherein different quantities of chances to win the progressive awardare associated with different probabilities of winning the progressiveaward in association with the winning sporting event wager.
 16. A systemcomprising: a processor; and a memory device that stores a plurality ofinstructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processorto: responsive to a receipt of data associated with a placement of afirst sporting event wager on a first outcome of a first sporting eventthat is associated with first odds of occurring: determine a firstquantity of chances to randomly trigger an event, wherein the firstquantity of chances to randomly trigger the event is based on the firstodds of the first outcome of the first sporting event occurring,associate the first quantity of chances to randomly trigger the eventwith the first sporting event wager, and cause a first sporting eventwager ticket voucher associated with the first sporting event wager tobe issued, and responsive to a receipt of data associated with aplacement of a second, different sporting event wager on a secondoutcome of a second sporting event that is associated with second,different odds of occurring: determine a second, different quantity ofchances to randomly trigger the event, wherein the second, differentquantity of chances to randomly trigger the event is based on thesecond, different odds of the second outcome of the second sportingevent occurring, associate the second, different quantity of chances torandomly trigger the event with the second, different sporting eventwager, and cause a second sporting event wager ticket voucher associatedwith the second sporting event wager to be issued.
 17. The system ofclaim 16, wherein the event comprises any of a play of a game, amodification of an attribute of the game, an activation of a feature ofthe game, and a modification of an activated feature of the game. 18.The system of claim 16, wherein the first outcome of the first sportingevent comprises a plurality of first outcomes of a plurality of firstsporting events and the first odds are based on each of the plurality offirst outcomes of each of the plurality of first sporting eventsoccurring.
 19. The system of claim 16, wherein the first quantity ofchances to randomly trigger the event is based on an amount of the firstsporting event wager.
 20. The system of claim 16, wherein the firstquantity of chances to randomly trigger the event is based on anidentity of a user whom placed the first sporting event wager.